Running Into Brick Walls
by socoangel
Summary: Bella comes to Forks due to her father's illness and finds herself staying longer than expected to care for him. While she longs for home in Florida with her mom and stepdad, she finds that maybe being in Forks isn't such a bad thing after all.
1. Chapter 1

**Title****: Running into Brick Walls**

**Author****: Socoangel**

**Rating****: M (unsure if it will need such a high rating just yet, but figured I would err on the side of caution)**

**Summary****: Bella comes to Forks, WA in response to her father's illness and finds herself staying longer than expected to care for him. While she longs for home in Florida with her mom and stepfather, she finds that maybe being in Forks isn't such a bad thing after all.**

**Disclaimer****:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Chapter1**

**THUNK! "Oh damn, I am SO sorry! I wasn't watching where I was…." Cold realization struck me and dammed up the words on my tongue. I found myself staring slightly upward into a pair of eyes the color of the Baltic Amber pendant around my neck. Holy hell, I had just run slam into what felt like a moving brick wall coming around the corner, but that had proven to be the one and only Edward Cullen. He quickly backstepped a couple of paces in an almost dramatic fashion, his nostrils flaring slightly. I was fairly certain my face was showing the immediate effects of my clumsiness, I could practically feel all the blood in my brain rushing to the skin on my face to create my signature "Bella Blush" as my mom & stepdad called it. Knowing I had left my sentence unfinished, I looked down at the floor and mumbled "…going. I'm terribly sorry for that, I guess I'm a little distracted." **

**I chanced a glance up and noticed him shake his head almost imperceptibly, as if trying to focus his thoughts. I shook my head slightly as well, trying to gather my thoughts enough to facilitate an escape from my blunder. He made a slight huffing noise and I found myself becoming slightly irritated with his demeanor, he seemed put off that I had run into him. Ugh, what is wrong with me? I pondered this for a moment, I'm sure it was all my imagination, I was under extreme stress as it was, & the environment was definitely NOT helping matters. I had abhorred hospitals for as long as I could remember, I had spent entirely too much time in various ER's in various hospitals being x-rayed, stitched up, bandaged, and put in casts. Had one looked at my compiled medical records, it may appear as though I was the product of an abusive parent or parents, but that was in no way the case. I was, quite simply, a danger to my own self I was so clumsy. This thought brought me back to the scene at hand & I noticed that he had crossed his arms and spread his feet slightly, as if trying to root himself to the floor. The large sliding doors behind me whooshed open and then shut, creating a slight breeze. I noticed him seem to almost jump slightly & suddenly he looked quite like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming mack truck, despite the stalwart stance. What was with this guy? I had to be imagining all of this, as there was no way I could mean enough to elicit this much response from someone like him. He was supposedly the most calm and collected of his family, aside from his father, the Chief of Medicine for the Forks Medical Center. Or at least, that was what I had been told today at lunch.**

"**You're the new girl that just started at Forks High today aren't you? You're Chief Swan's daughter." My head snapped up at his voice, which sounded completely opposite of put off or distressed, it was like smooth honey, practically dripping off his tongue in a leisurely manner. Gah! What was wrong with me? He looked somewhat questioningly at me, and I remembered that he had asked me something. "Yeah, that's me. Again, I'm really sorry for running headlong into you like that. I'm sure you've heard about my dad, everyone else in town has. I guess I'm a little more out of it than I had realized." He shook his head in the affirmative, "Yes, my father was working in the ER when they brought him in, he's known your father since we moved here a couple of years ago. They try to help each other out on various cases when the police and hospital are both involved. I'm very sorry to hear of his illness, I hope he gets better soon."**

"**Um, thanks, I hope we can get him back on his feet soon. I was hoping he would be well enough for me to go back home at the end of the summer so that I can finish high school back in Florida." He seemed to grimace, although the expression was so quickly erased and replaced with a calmer one I wasn't sure I'd even seen it. I found myself having trouble maintaining eye contact with those beautiful eyes for some reason. I ducked my head slightly and continued, "No offense to Forks or anyone that lives here, but it's kind of depressing here, always rainy and overcast. I guess I'm spoiled to more bright sunny days than days like this." He looked intently at me, confusing me even further. "You hardly look like a sun worshipper if you don't mind me saying so" he said "Your skin is pale enough to make a lot of the girls around here look tanned." Ummm, ok, yeah so I am pale, what's it to him? A small, slightly crooked smile touched his face for a moment and I found myself immediately feeling sorry that I had started to get angry with him, he was joking. As if I had to make up for my flash of irritation, I said "Oh, that…yeah, my aunt had skin cancer, so I guess I am overly conscious with the sunscreen." He nodded, and said in a more serious tone "Good reason, we are all also conscious of that as well, what with Carlisle being a doctor." "Carlisle?" I asked. "Well, since we are all adopted, my brothers and sisters and I sometimes call him Carlisle, or Dad, whichever we feel is appropriate at the moment" he stated simply. I nodded, understanding the sentiment.**

**He glanced down at his watch quickly, gave me an apologetic version of that same slightly crooked smile, and said "Well, I am supposed to be meeting my father in a few minutes, actually right after he finishes checking on your dad, so I must say goodbye. Again, good luck with your father's recovery. I will see you at school sometime." "Ok, thank you again for the well wishes, and I'm sorry I wasn't watching where I was pacing." He smiled again, this time in a more genuine fashion, and the effect was nothing less than spectacular on his finely sculpted features. I gulped, hoping he wouldn't notice, as he replied "No Worries Isabella, don't give it another thought" and turned to walk away. "It's just Bella!" I said, perhaps a little louder than I had intended. "I'm just plain old Bella." I said in a softer voice. Again I flushed crimson as he turned halfway round and said "I would never say you were plain, or old for that matter, but if you wish, Bella it is." At this he turned back and walked away, I noticed he made little to no noise as he walked, even though the tile floor seemed to give notice to anyone who tread on it. No wonder I hadn't heard anyone coming, he was so quiet. **

**I turned back and eyed the small arrangements of seating in the ICU waiting room from the hallway where the collision had occurred. Some comfortably padded chairs, a couple of loveseats for families to sit together on, and two utilitarian metal and plastic chairs stowed in the corner. I wished suddenly that my mom would hurry up and get back in here. She had stepped out to "get some fresh air" which was parent-speak for "I'm going to go call your stepfather and let him know how things are going and assure him you haven't cracked yet." I was assuming that Dr. Cullen would be in to speak with us about my dad at any minute, as his son would been waiting for him. I sat down in one of the cushioned chairs without even realizing I was going to do so, and looked around again. I wondered about the possible need for those metal & plastic chairs again. Maybe so people could stand in them to change the TV's mounted in the corners if the remotes weren't to be found? I was all too soon to find out what they were for. **

**For a moment I let my mind drift back to what had just happened. I wondered why such a seemingly casual exchange had felt so strange, almost the feel of an electrical charge in the air. How weird. I rolled my head in circles, trying to encourage the tight muscles to relax even the slightest bit, however the more I thought of my encounter with Edward, the more tense I became. My thoughts of that were cut short though, by the entrance of my mother and Dr. Cullen into the waiting room. He was stunning, even if he was old enough to be a doctor and have adopted teenagers, but I couldn't help finding myself frozen as I looked up at a pair of eyes almost the identical color of his adopted son's!**

"**Bella?" my mother Renee said, as she sat down in the chair next to mine. I barely noticed a knowing look pass from her to the doctor before me and back again. Dr. Cullen had walked over to the corner for one of the hard chairs and placed it facing me, about 3 ft away. I had been so preoccupied thinking about their eyes that I hadn't noticed him even move away and back. Immediately I was on full alert, my body stiffening as I thought about the look that had passed between my mother and he a second ago. "Charlie?" My panic immediately had me on my feet, flashes of my Gramma Swan's funeral 5 years ago racing through my thoughts. The dark clothing, the tissue boxes stashed everywhere, the constant stream of people that had come through the house, strangers holding my hand or hugging me as I sat beside my father. I thought of how I had never seen him cry before that, or since, although I lived with my mom the majority of the time, it seemed so alien. He was so strong, it seemed wrong to see his tears. I had only been back to Forks in brief weeklong spurts during the summer since she had passed away.**

**My mother was on her feet beside me, "Sweetie, no, he's not gone! Come on and sit down, Dr. Cullen wants to talk to us." I allowed myself to collapse back onto the chair, almost as if the adrenaline rush from just a few seconds ago had already vacated my body and I was spent. I did feel that way, but considering a call in the middle of the night, several hours on a plane, and no sleep in the past 72 hrs, I didn't feel as if the bags I knew were under my eyes were ill-gotten. Dr. Cullen gave me a soft smile as he began to speak, and I knew immediately that things were not good. They could have been worse, my father was still alive, but something was definitely wrong. "Charlie had a massive heart attack, Bella, we found three major blockages, and we did correct those during his bypass surgery. He will, however, have a long recovery ahead of him and he will have to make some major changes in his lifestyle to facilitate the best outcome possible. He told me that you all had agreed that you would come and take care of him when he gets home from the hospital, is that correct?" I nodded slightly. "I understand that this is a big undertaking for anyone, especially a 17 year old, are you absolutely ok with this plan?" Again I nodded, trying to concentrate on the words he was speaking, and not the hypnotic note to his voice. I would suppose it would come in very handy for calming upset patients or family members when need be, because I could very easily have slipped into a deep sleep listening to him.**

**We spent the next fifteen minutes discussing how long Charlie would remain in ICU, in the hospital overall, and what the plan of action was when he came home. The transfer to Forks High School had already taken place and I had attended school that day, albeit with less than full attention and what I can only call basically dressed. My mother would stay with me until Charlie came home, at which time she would return to Florida where we had lived with her husband Phil. She and I went through the suggested dietary changes with the Dr. and his medication regimen as well, before he quietly bid us good night and told us both to get some rest. We then went to Charlie's small but tidy home and proceeded to clear out the cupboards of all highly caloric, artery clogging, and extremely junky food items. We both fell into bed exhausted several hours after getting there, with me clutching one of Charlie's old flannel shirts in my hands to my face. It smelled of his soap and cologne and was oddly comforting, as he had used the same products for as long as I could remember. That night, I dreamt of nothing that I can remember except a pair of molten amber eyes surrounded by impossibly long, thick lashes.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer****:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Chapter 2**

**I got up, showered and dressed for school, and managed to choke down some cereal that we had purposely kept for the time while I was here before Charlie came home. After that, so long Cap'n Crunch! I was once again nervous about the new school and its students and faculty, so I focused on my running mental list of the grocery items that Renee and I would go shopping for when I got out of school, before visiting hours in ICU. As I drove to school, I recalled the incident in the hall the day before, blushing yet again at the memory of my clumsiness. I had easily known who he was, quite simply, because out of all the people at Forks High, he and his siblings were the only ones I had ventured to ask any questions about at lunch with Angela, Jessica, Eric, and Mike. Everyone sort of gave me a knowing look before Jessica and Angela started giving me the rundown of the Cullen family. I guess every new person wanted to know what the deal was with them. It did seem to be a strange thing, how they were paired up despite being technically siblings. It turns out Dr. Carlisle Cullen was married, but when it was discovered that they could not bear children, they adopted 5 with rapid succession. Rosalie and Jasper were twins with blonde hair, and breathtakingly good looks. Rosalie's partner, Emmett was a hulking mass of muscle with short dark curly hair and a contrastingly cherubic face that was smiling every time I looked anywhere near them. The contrast to the blonde twins in partners seemed to be dark hair, as Jasper's partner Alice had short spiky dark hair as well that was shaped into an adorable pixie like bob. It very much suited her as she practically danced whenever she moved across the floor, and she carried herself with such animation of her face and hands. Finally there was auburn haired Edward, the loner, whom apparently every female in school practically drooled over because he was literally breathtakingly beautiful. In as much as men are loathe to be called beautiful, I could find no other term so fitting to describe him. He did hang out with his siblings, but from what I was told, he didn't find anyone at school worthy enough of his attention to bother with. Mike and Eric snickered under their breath and I could hear the word "Gay" thrown in for their two cents worth. The strangest thing about them all, according to my new acquaintances, was that they all had the same eye color.**

**I arrived at school in the old faded red Chevy pickup that Charlie had arranged for me to have during my stay to the same looks and stares as yesterday. My dad's best friend from the LaPush Indian Reservation, Billy Black, and his son had brought it over two days before. I vaguely remembered Jacob, who was almost 2 years younger than me, and whom I had played with when I came to visit while our fathers watched ball games or went fishing. His two older sisters were old enough that they left us to play, only keeping an eye out to make sure we didn't burn anything down. Me getting injured was just par for the course, so they took that in stride as did Charlie. I smiled to myself at the memory of Jacob proudly dropping the keys in my hand, informing me at the same time that he had rebuilt the engine in the truck and that it ran perfectly, albeit slowly. I would get no speeding tickets driving this. The school day passed by quickly, and I was thankful, eager to finish errands and get to the ICU to check on him.**

**We finished the shopping in no time, as we had learned to divide and conquer our grocery lists a long time ago. We visited with Charlie and I was thrilled to see him sitting up and off the ventilator and mostly awake. Tonight when we went home to Charlie's house, I found myself digging through cd's that I had left there that I didn't need at home in Florida because they were already loaded onto my MP3 player. They were mostly classical pieces that most teens my age would groan at having to listen to, however I found them soothing. As I drifted off listening to Claire de Lune over the speakers, I had the most peaceful feeling and my dreams ghosted in and out, golden haired angels, pixies, and dark haired adonis, all with the same beautiful amber gaze.**

**Days passed, and soon enough, Charlie was moved out of ICU and put in a regular hospital room. He now spoke animatedly about baseball games and fishing with Billy over the phone, and asked how the renovations were going on my bedroom. He had decided before his heart attack that he wanted to renovate the room before my next visit so that I would be more comfortable and feel like I was in a real grown-up room. He had already bought a beautiful lavender tone on tone comforter with matching linens and valances, so we took that as our cue. Renee and I painted the walls a soft beigeish cream with the crown molding and window trim in a soft lavender to match. We added a large rug under the now full sized bed and a couple of smaller ones in shades of beige, as well as a mountain of pillows piled in the corner to make a comfy reading spot on the floor near the window. I smiled when I thought of Charlie in a department store trying to choose bedding for a teenaged girl, particularly this one. But he had done well in remembering that purple had been my favorite color for as long as I could remember.**

**About 2 days before Charlie was due to be released home, Renee walked into my bedroom holding a glass vase with a beautiful bouquet of the most lush lavender Angel Face roses I had ever seen, accented with sprays of fuschias dripping away from the stems, and tiny white miniature roses and babies breath to finish it off. I immediately knew the name of the roses, as my Gramma Swan always had them in her garden, and she taught me the names of them as well as her other precious blooms. "Where on earth did these come from?" I asked. "They were just delivered here for you! Hurry, and look at the card, see who they're from!" She bounced more excitedly than I did as I pulled the small card from the envelope nestled amongst the petals. Strangely enough, all it said was **

"**For Bella"**

**The script was almost a calligraphy artist's touch, with its flowing loops and swirls, and I had absolutely no clue who they were from. Immediately I thought of my Dad, of course it had to be him, he would be the only one to know other than Mom what color roses to get to make something this special. I felt a twinge in my chest as I thought about how he must feel guilty for me having to transfer schools, completely uproot my life, and take care of him for a long period of time. I started to call him to thank him for the flowers, but realized this was the time of day he was usually in cardiovascular therapy. I filed it in the back of my head and went back to placing the final frame on the wall, my collection of black and white photographs in their silver frames subtly calming me without words. I would have to remember to photograph the blooms before they wilted so that I could remember what they had looked like. For the first time that night, I dreamed specifically about Edward Cullen. **

**In preparation for Charlie's homecoming, I had begun to research the internet for heart-healthy recipes that I could prepare for him. I has already amassed quite a few and started a binder with the printed pages that I stashed on the microwave cart shelf in the small kitchen. It was obvious the house lacked the touch of a female, or at least for a long while it had. I also made a list of various kitchen tools and cookware that he did not have so that I could pick them up when I drove into Port Angeles that evening. We had decided that I would visit him in the hospital until I had to leave, and my mother would stay with him while I was gone. Since he had been moved into a regular room, the visiting hours were extended from those of the ICU and I hated for him to be there alone. Renee gently suggested the excursion to Port Angeles, I'm assuming as her way of telling me I needed some "me time." I initially fought the idea, but ended up deciding maybe I did need a small break as I wouldn't have much opportunity for that after he got home from the hospital the next day, which was a Sunday. Besides, it would be nice to go to a decent bookstore to pick up a few pieces to keep me entertained while he rested quietly.**

**My drive there and errands were uneventful, I perused the books until I found several that piqued my interest and that I had not already read. The store was great, it had a good selection, a quiet corner with bean bag chairs and sofas for reading, and was situated next door to a small coffee shop. They also played good music on the overhead, as opposed to some of the horrible muzak so many places played. I instantly recognized India Arie's song "Beautiful" when I walked in and was pleased to hear several more of my favorites while I looked. Taking my woven tote through the door, I noticed it had started to drizzle a fine mist again. I had been shocked to wake up to a brilliant ray of sunshine**

**vaulting through my bedroom window this morning when I woke, but it was not to last.**

**Stupid Olympic Peninsula and its crappy weather!**

**I threw the hood of my jacket over my head and went in the direction of my truck. I'd had to park around the corner from the book store since all the closer spots were taken, and it was dimly lit so I walked carefully so that I didn't follow my usual routine and trip over something. I reached the truck, unlocking and opening the door, sliding my tote inside along with my purse next to the bags with the kitchen supplies. I heard the loud thumps of a sound system that was obviously the product of some majorly overzealous attempt at breaking the sound barrier or something as I sat my coffee in the cupholder. It took me a moment to realize that the sound had not approached and then faded away as it should have if the driver had driven past me. The sound stayed at a steady volume, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I realize the car was beside me, slowing to a stop. The volume abruptly dropped as the deeply tinted window rolled down and I turned slowly, observing four faces peering at me out the front passenger window. They all appeared to be about 18 years old or somewhere in that area, and I noticed all of them with beer bottles in their hands, including the driver. Oh great! I thought to myself as I frowned down at them, here I was having a perfectly pleasant time to myself and then this!**

"**Hey baby, looking good there, what's your name?" said the passenger closest to me, leaning slightly out the window in saying it. I knew better than to give them my name, my father WAS a police chief for goodness sakes, but of course they wouldn't know this. I wasn't in Forks tonight. I simply looked at all of them again and said "Can I help you? I don't know the area, so I'm not the person to ask for directions." They all stared stupidly for a moment before letting out a series of boisterous laughter. "She thinks we need directions? I think maybe she needs some directions, maybe all the way beneath my belt!" the driver exclaimed. Oh boy, this could get ugly. I composed myself and simply said " Excuse me, I have to go, I'm expected at home soon." as I began to climb into my truck. "Hey Bitch, we weren't done talking to you, where you think you're going?" said one of the back seat's occupants. I knew better than to take their bait, as much as I wanted to slur back off at them. Charlie had always said to keep calm and not goad someone who was attempting to bother me, particularly if there was alcohol involved, and from the smell emanating from the car, that wasn't the only thing they were doing. I actually recognized the scent as Charlie had made me smell some at the police station once so I would know what it was and that I wasn't to touch it.**

**At this realization, I quickly pulled my truck door shut, hastily pulling the seat belt around me and threw my keys into the ignition. As I turned it in the ignition, a grinding noise issued from the red beast that was my only salvation at this point. SHIT! NOT NOW! This cannot be happening to me. As I thought this I noticed the passenger and the two from the back seat climbing out, advancing on my truck. I reached to lock the doors, somehow forgetting that the ancient beast did not have power door locks, they were manual and closer to the door seam. I slid my hand back trying to hit the button, intending to lock it and then the passenger door as well. I would just sit in the locked car until they got bored and gave up and would use my cell to call 9-1-1 as soon as I could grab it. This was not to be however, as I felt the door snatched from my grasping hand. The front seat passenger handed his beer to one of his buddies as he reached around me to unlatch my seat belt. I knew what was going to happen at this point, and I remembered from somewhere my father's instructions should I ever be abducted. "Look as hard as you can Bells," he said, "Remember everything about them you can, clothing, tattoos, scars, eye and hair color and anything else you can hold onto for later." He had never seemed to indicate that there wouldn't BE a later, but I wasn't stupid. I knew there were many ways I could be disposed of if this didn't end up in a later for me which wouldn't leave my family with much closure. I stared hard, trying to force my brain not to think of such things, to memorize as much as I could for later reference. I felt myself being grabbed roughly and jerked off the bench seat even as I stiffened my body up. I was bound and determined that if they were going to do anything to me, I was going to make it as difficult as possible.**

**As my feet hit the ground beneath me, I contemplated simply drooping into a pile on the pavement so they would have to pick me up bodily and carry me anywhere they had to go. Even as I thought this it occurred to me that at 115 lbs this wouldn't pose much of a hardship on them. They were laughing while the driver yelled out to them, "Hey, hurry up, someone might turn down the street!" Just then, the one who had bodily removed me from my truck reached up and roughly grabbed at my right breast. At this, the edges of my vision went red with rage. I suddenly didn't consider the stiff and unresponsive tact to be to my advantage anymore, and with this I gathered all my strength, pulled my right fist back, and plunged it into his stomach with everything I had. I then brought my right knee up hard into his groin, almost sickeningly enjoying the grunt that left his lips when I made contact. Seeing their friend doubled over in pain immediately brought the other two's attention back to me. Throwing down their beer bottles, they both came at me, screaming obscenities as the driver jumped out of the car and rushed to aid them in subduing me. I had not even noticed that he had moved the car forward and at an angle, so as to block off the space in front of the truck where I might have run through. He'd almost kissed the bumper of my truck he had come so close.**

**Suddenly the sound of squalling tires broke their focus and they turned to see where the noise came from. Headlights flooded the space between the buildings as a car screamed around the corner barrelling straight for us when it righted itself. It showed no signs of slowing and I wondered if someone was intentionally going to run us over or if maybe someone had passed out at the wheel maybe. Right as the car got within a hundred feet of us, it suddenly skidded to the side, screeching to a stop just before the back bumper of my truck, effectively blocking us all in. It finally occurred to me to scream, although I don't know why the idea had taken me so long to process. "HELP ME! PLEASE!" I screeched as loudly as I could. Someone bounded out of the car and literally slid across the hood of it, landing easily on his feet as if it were a move he performed every day.**

**My eyes were still trying to adjust to the sudden blinding light, then the sudden darkness that followed as the car had spun to the side, now with the light bouncing off the facing building. I couldn't see who the person was, but I suddenly feared for them, it was four against one. But I quickly realized my fears were unfounded when he unceremoniously shoved the two from the backseat away from him as they attempted to charge, they both went flying in opposite directions as though shot by cannons. I couldn't believe what I was seeing as the two bodies slammed into the buildings opposite each other and slid to the ground, they were both unconcious. The passenger seat fellow had recovered from the blows I had dealt him quickly and sneered at me, spitting out obscenities as fast as they would leave his mouth. Suddenly he was in the air, feet dangling at least a foot over the pavement, the stranger's hand at the back of his neck, then he was gone….the door to the car was opened and his body was thrust into the waiting seat. The door was slammed shut and the door seam dented in, rendering it unable to be opened. He sat there, clearly in shock, rattling the door handle uselessly. That left the driver standing there, also somewhat in shock and obviously debating on whether to run or fight. The choice was made for him by the stranger when his hands closed around the driver's throat, only leaving enough room for just the slightest breath to pass through his windpipe.**

**Both of them moved away from where they had been standing, the stranger's hands still wrapped around his throat as he led him around to the driver's door of the car. He shoved him into the seat, slammed the door shut, and repeated the door seam dent…. with his FIST! The driver shakily attempted to start the car, once, twice, almost flooding it out. On the third try he got it cranked and as he went to shift it in gear, the stranger screamed "WAIT! You aren't going anywhere just yet!" The hesitation of the driver was just long enough that both back seat passengers were back in their seats, unconscious still, slumped over head to head. Their doors were both given the same treatment as the front doors, and the driver was told "Now GO!" This time there was no hesitation, and the car was thrown into gear and screeched off into the night, leaving nothing behind but broken beer bottles and tire marks. The stranger approached me slowly, putting his hands out in a gesture of peace. I was confused. I was rooted to the spot where I stood beside my open truck door, so trying to move closer to him was useless. I didn't quite understand what had just happened in front of me, and my mind was reeling with flashes of the scene that had just played itself out there. Why was he moving so slowly, holding his hands out like that?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer****:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Chapter 3**

"**Bella It's ok, they're gone, I'm not going to hurt you I promise! Are you ok?" a somewhat familiar voice queried. I couldn't place it right off hand, but my eyes had adjusted to the darkness and what light was cast from the headlights of the dark car that had contained my saviour. I looked up, and found myself once again staring into those amber eyes I had so recently and frequently dreamed of. I felt the darkness surround me as I crumpled to the pavement beneath me in a heap.**

**I found myself being lifted and slid into my seat as I came to consciousness again. My hearing began to fade back in and I heard, "Are you ok? Please say something! Please answer me!" I heard the velvet voice, laced with worry as I cracked open my eyelids, and remembered who exactly had saved me. Edward Cullen. He seemed to be relieved that I opened my eyes, and immediately began searching me over for injuries. I finally pulled forth the notion to speak, "I'm ok, pretty sure anyway, he just grabbed me, pulled me out of the truck and then…." I broke off, half sobbing as the realization of their intent fully hit me like a mack truck. My hand reached to my body, unthinkingly grazing it across where he had grabbed me. I would have a bruise there tomorrow. He was suddenly making a strange noise that I couldn't decipher, it sounded like something between a hiss and a deep, rumbling growl. Startled, I looked over to him, so many questions rising in my brain at once I gained a headache for my troubles. The noise stopped, just as suddenly as it had begun, and I realized I must have looked frightened. He was once again apologizing profusely, swearing he wouldn't hurt me. I simply looked at him and said "How did…I mean, why did you turn….I don't underst-" I was silenced by him gently placing his forefinger on my lips. He began "Ok, you're going to be fine, I understand that you're confused, anyone would be. I will explain as best I can, but my first priority is to find out that you are not hurt physically." I shook my head no, "I will have a bruise tomorrow where he grabbed me, but nothing other than that physically, thanks to you that is. But I don't understand. How did you know to turn here? There's no way you could have seen what was going on from out on the main street."**

"**Oh I knew exactly what was going on over here, stupid filthy….." The rest were a string of muttered expletives describing my visitors. He was pacing in a confined space, holding the bridge of his nose, his shoulders hunched over. After a couple of minutes he seemed to calm himself, and straightened up, "What happened to your truck? Why weren't you able to drive away?" he asked. It took me a minute to recall exactly what had happened, it had all seemed so fast. "I tried to crank it, but it made a grinding noise when I turned the key and wouldn't turn over." He seemed to think this over for a minute, pacing again, this time in a more upright manner with his hand in his hair. "Ok, you obviously can't drive it home tonight, so why don't you gather your things while I go over here to my car for a moment and make a phone call. I will call a tow truck to bring it back to your father's house tomorrow morning, and I will take you home, BUT, only after my father has looked over you and made sure you are ok…." I attempted to argue this point, but he shushed me yet again before I could get a sound out. "There is no getting around this, you will either go let Carlisle check you over at my house or you will go to the ER. As a matter of fact, I think that would be the better idea, I can call him and have him meet us there." I did manage to get a word in this time, "NO! I can't….I won't, my dad can NOT know about this, it might induce another heart attack! I'm certain that someone would see me there and mention it to him as soon as they saw him. But he would find out regardless when the bill came from the hospital ER in my name! I will go see your dad, only if he promises not to tell my dad." He gave a slightly smug smile then, knowing he had won. Damnit! He had planned for that reaction on my part to the idea of going to the ER. "Hey, no fair!" I said as he laughed slightly at my expression. "Good, now, gather your things and I will be back in a minute to help you with them."**

**He walked back to his car, which I noticed was a dark colored Volvo of some sort. I'm not good with cars, so I had no clue which model it was, I simply knew it even LOOKED expensive. I could see him reach into the passenger side to retrieve his cell phone. He quickly dialed and put the phone up to his ear, speaking so low and quickly that I couldn't hear him. I turned back to my truck and started gathering my items, As soon as I had them all loaded up in my arms I turned my head to find him standing beside the truck again.**

**I jumped, yelping at his sudden appearance out of thin air, "Geez! Don't sneak up on me like that!" He looked at me apologetically and said "I'll try not to anymore, sorry." It was like the guy was a ghost, he seemed to move silently no matter what shoes he wore and where he was at! He reached out to take the items from my arms and said "Just carry your purse, I'll get the rest of this." I began to argue, but suddenly it seemed my adrenaline was wearing off yet again and I felt too weak to argue the point. It probably wouldn't have done any good anyhow. Besides, he was strong enough to hold all of it with one of his arms. This turned out to be a good thing because as soon as I'd put my feet on the pavement again my memory flashed to my would be attackers faces leering at me and my legs gave out on me. I would have hit the pavement yet again had he not grabbed me quickly, wrapping his arm all the way around my waist and holding me up against him as we moved toward his car. "Sorry, don't know what that was about, just got weak for a second there." I said as he somehow managed to open the trunk and stow my items. "Shush, you're probably in shock right now, just let me get you back to Carlisle." he said, shaking his head at me. He led me around the car, arm still securely holding me up with the one arm, opening the passenger door with the other hand, then deftly sweeping that arm underneath my knees, completely off my feet. It startled me enough that I reached out and smacked him lightly on the shoulder. I shook my hand back and forth, man that smarted, he was solid, and I mean like rock hard solid. He just laughed and shook his head, placing me in the passenger seat as he did so. He reached around me with the seatbelt in his hand, fastening it quickly. Then he stepped to the side, closing the door of the car, and walked around to the driver's side. He slid in, fastened his seat belt, and cranked the car all in one fluid movement. He was so graceful, his moves so fluid, he could have been a ballet dancer. Hmm, maybe Mike and Eric were right, maybe he hadn't started dating someone because he was gay. We pulled out, turned around, and headed back towards Forks, and for the first few minutes we sat in what would have been comfortable silence had we both not been so keyed up from our recent experience. I concluded I was going to have to be the one to start the conversation if I wanted answers, so I began by clearing my throat and saying "Ok, so back there, how the hell did you know anything was going on down that street? There's no way you could have seen us."**

**He sat quietly for a moment, contemplating my question, and finally responded. "Well, I guess you could say I heard what was going on, it was just a matter of finding out where it was going on." Huh? I couldn't recall screaming before he got there at all, and they had been yelling obscenities, but he shouldn't have been able to hear that while just driving down the road in a car with the engine running and the windows up. I was beginning to get slightly frustrated with his question dodging, but luckily he began speaking again. "I know this is going to make me sound as though I am certifiably insane but I heard them, I heard their thoughts when they saw you, and I knew it was you when they looked at you closely enough. They didn't know you, but I could see your face in their thoughts. I just feel horrible that I waited, I knew they were up to no good, that much was obvious. By the time they came upon you, they'd talked themselves up about it, were convinced it was a great idea." I shuddered, and then it dawned on me what he had just said, sinking in slowly. I gulped, "You said you heard their thoughts, how is that possible? Can you hear mine right now?"**

**He turned to look at me, giving me a slight smile, saying "Well which question do you want answered first?" I sighed, slightly exasperated with him, hoping he would catch THAT thought and said "The first one!", He laughed, beginning "Ok, here goes," he took a deep breath, "I can hear people's thoughts, all of them. I can read minds. Well, with one exception it seems." As if his statements weren't confusing enough, now he was going to speak in riddles! I was definitely beginning to dislike him, immensely even. He began again, "Before you think I really am insane and decide to try to jump out of the car while it's moving, please don't because I don't think you would make it, I'm doing close to 80." **

**I glanced at the speedometer and my eyes grew wide when I realized he was being honest. Well about the speed at least he was, we would see about the mind reading part. I mumbled "m'kay" and then he resumed his earlier explanation. "I cannot read yours for some reason that I can't possibly imagine, but everyone else I hear as though all their thoughts are being spoken aloud. That's how I knew what they were up to, how I saw you. I couldn't let them hurt you, do the things they were thinking about...I just couldn't!"**

**I sat in silence for a minute, trying to digest what he had just told me. Shaking my head I said to him "Why can't you read my thoughts? Is there something wrong with me?" His laugh was so loud and so unexpected that it startled me again, my hand flying up to my chest as my heart lurched and then skittered along for a minute before evening out again. "You mean to tell me that I just told you I can read people's minds and the primary thought in your mind is that you think there's something wrong with you because I can't read yours?" I thought about this for a moment, and said in return, "Well I'm used to being different, but if you can read EVERYONE else's minds, I guess I thought maybe something was wrong with my brain to where you weren't able to. Although I guess at least I should feel grateful that I can know my thoughts are private." I began then to think about the recent times I had thought about him, his father, his family, how I dreamt of him, of them. It felt as though some part of me I hadn't known was missing was drawing back into me, into my heart, as I neared them. Oh boy, yeah I was really grateful he hadn't heard THAT!**

**I began to consider the possibility that I was losing my mind, because honestly, that's what it felt like from my perspective. I don't guess it would be that far fetched to assume that with all the stress of the past weeks flashing by me, I was beginning to crack. I pulled myself up in my seat and sat up straight, thinking to myself…OK, get it together! You have virtually lost it girl, and you have too much to deal with to let yourself go to pieces now. Charlie needs you! Edward kept glancing over at me as if to see if he could catch just a clip of my thoughts. I was so lost in them that I didn't even notice the car slow and turn onto the driveway towards his house. Ah, that was going to be interesting! As far as I knew, nobody at school had ever seen their home, outside or inside. We drove at least another ½ a mile until we pulled into a clearing that surrounded what was probably the most spectacular home I had ever seen**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer****:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Chapter 4**

**The front porch lights were on, as it appeared so were every other light in the house. I was quite simply speechless just looking at the outside of it, was there any way the interior could do it justice? There were 3 stories, and all 3 were dominated by enormous walls of glass that looked into the living room, kitchen, some sort of study, & what looked like a studio of some sort. From what I could tell, the back side of the house was much the same, with the bedrooms overlooking the forest surrounding it and apparently a small stream ran across the backyard because I could see it on either side behind the building. **

**The exterior that wasn't glass was a mishmash of large pristine white rocks, mortared together in a beautiful random fashion. It wasn't until then that I noticed the audience standing on the front porch now expectantly since we had arrived. Edward came around and opened the car door for me, ever the gentleman I must say. He looked at me very seriously and said "Are you ok on your feet, or would you like me to carry you in?" At this of course I blushed profusely and my heart began thundering like a race horse beating down a track. "I think I will be ok to walk." I mumbled, ducking my head down. As I stood, I held onto the door for support and stood up tentatively to see how I would do. After getting my bearings, I was able to walk unassisted up the front walk to the steps, and as I climbed them, I felt Edwards hand ghosting right at my lower back, in case I lost my balance.**

**I recognized Dr. Cullen, Alice, and Jasper, however Rosalie and Emmett were nowhere to be seen. I was certain that the beautiful woman standing next to the kind Dr. was none other than his wife and Edward's adoptive mother, although I did not know her name. As I stood there I realized that with Rosalie and Emmett standing there, they would have been almost unbearably beautiful to look upon. With a soft smile, Dr. Cullen introduced me to his wife Esme, who was of average height, with honey colored hair, not quite blond, yet lighter than brunette, whose smile was warm and welcoming as any mother's should be. She seemed a motherly type, and she moved to embrace me lightly, she must have assumed I was bruised all over. As we were walking in the front door, I gathered that Edward must have told them what happened in the street, because Esme said softly "Bella, such a terrible evening you've had, is there anything I can get for you?" I nodded no, and turned to Dr Cullen, hoping he would need to see me in his study in private so that I could have a minute to myself, even if it was around him, he expected nothing from me, I didn't confound him because he couldn't read my mind. Before he could bring it up, Alice danced across the living room from where she had been standing at the piano and came to envelope me in the same fashion that Esme had. She was practically vibrating with enegy as she leaned in closely and said "We are going to be great friends, Bella, trust me on that." She then danced away and back to Jasper.**

**Edward, clearly embarrassed by his sister's jubilant reaction to me, particularly under the circumstances, quietly led me to the stairway, up one flight and to the left into what I figured from outside was his study. Dr. Cullen walked in behind us and quietly shut the door. With a slight look at each other, Edward nodded his head and excused himself, saying that he would be waiting for me downstairs. Dr. Cullen motioned for me to sit in the chair on the other side of his desk as he moved to pick up the implements he had earlier laid out. It was obvious from the ice pack, suture kit, and various bottles of medications that Edward had not told him much about what little injury I had. I did not assume however, that that meant he had not been given the rundown of the entire incident. I could already see that there was a relationship of deep trust, respect, and familial love between the Dr. Cullen and Edward. He proceeded to move along with his examination of me, shining a penlight in my eyes, checking my pulse, and listening to my heartbeat. Once he had completed his cursory exam, he said "Now Bella, are you certain no other part of your body was grabbed or injured?" I quickly responded, "Yeah, they didn't have time to get any further before Edward got there. I guess I'm very lucky he was in Port Angeles and happened upon us…." I didn't know if Carlisle knew about Edward's "gift" was the best way I knew how to put it, and I wasn't about to mention it.**

**Carlisle gave a slight smile and nodded his head, "Yes, I would say so. I dare say it would be very difficult to explain to Charlie and your mother…" Realization struck me and I exclaimed "Ah Crap! I forgot about them for a minute, we can't let Charlie know about this! What if it made him sicker? And if I tell Renee, she won't want to leave me here with him alone. I can't afford to tell either of them, but I don't know how to explain where my truck is and how I got home without it." I began absentmindedly gnawing on my bottom lip, a habit I had picked up in middle school when I was worried about something.**

**Carlisle looked at me thoughtfully for a few minutes and says "Well, I think we may be able to help. Why don't you let Edward take you home, and tell your Mom that you ran into Alice in Port Angeles in the bookstore and when you couldn't get the truck started, she brought you home. Just tell her your truck will be brought back to your house first thing in the morning. We should be able to get it there early enough to avoid suspicion."**

**I considered his lie, and decided it would suffice, I just hoped I could carry it off. I had always been told that I lied horribly and most people wouldn't believe me, even people I didn't know. "Ok that should work, if you would please just have the tow truck driver to leave the bill in the glove compartment and I will take care of it. I'll have Jacob come look at it tomorrow afternoon, since they will be coming to visit with Charlie after he gets home and situated."**

"**That should be no problem to get that taken care of." Carlisle stated as he smiled down at me. He sighed and said "Well Bella, I think you should be ok physically. You don't seem to have any injuries, although I am very certain you are in a mild state of shock, may suffer some Post Traumatic Stress, and most likely you will have nightmares. I'm going to give you something to take when you get home tonight to help you sleep , ok?" I hesitated slightly, not sure if that was a wise choice for me, I could get kind of loopy sometimes on medications. The last time I had been prescribed a pain medication, I had thought I could fly and tried to climb out the attic window at my mom's house! "Ummm, ok." I responded " Dr. Cullen, I don't really take a lot of medications if I can help it. Should I maybe start with half? It's not like I can tell my mom to keep me out of the second story windows when my bedroom is on the second story and then I would have to explain what had happened as well. She would want to know why I was taking meds." He nodded yes and followed with "And please, Bella, call me Carlisle." I was a bit shocked at his request, but decided that if that was what he wanted, I would comply, particularly since he was agreeing to help me cover up tonight's incident. "Ok" I said as I stood to leave his study.**

**We walked out the door and towards the staircase, which he held my elbow and slightly assisted me in walking down it without falling on my face. Edward was waiting for me at the bottom, and spoke as we touched the bottom step. "Thank you for checking her out dad, and thank you for helping her with her cover story as well." Well I guess that answered my earlier question about whether his mother and father knew about his special ability. Carlisle simply nodded and replied "Not a problem at all, son." Edward had just turned to me and was about to speak when his mother's head popped around the corner of what I assumed was the kitchen door. "Edward?" she said, he turned back to me and said "My mom would like for you to come into the kitchen, she wanted to make you a sandwich to take along on the ride home. She figured you had not eaten much this evening what with all the excitement." I wanted to politely decline the offer, but the thought of food seemed to have an immediate effect on me and my stomach growled at that moment, rather loudly I might add. "Um, sure, sounds as if my appetite knows better than I do at the moment." Of course, the Bella Blush was in full effect at this point. Everyone began laughing, and the sound was more reminiscent of the sound of bells than of humans laughing, it was very strange. I ignored the thought and turned and walked into the kitchen to sit at the island across from Mrs. Cullen. She gave me a soft smile and asked what kind of sandwich I would like. "Ham is fine Mrs. Cullen."**

"**Please, call me Esme, dear." I should have figured on that, their family was so unconventional and casual it seemed. I watched as she flitted around the kitchen, first wrapping the sandwich, then grabbing a soda from the fridge, grabbing both and handing them to me. "Ok, I'll try to remember that Esme." I left the kitchen to find Edward standing near one of the nearly floor to ceiling windows speaking with Alice, and it seemed he was a bit frustrated with her, as he was once again pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. I cleared my throat to let them know I was in the room, and at this he turned and walked back towards the front door. "Oh wait, where is your dad? I wanted to thank him again." He gestured to the study upstairs and said "He went to do some research on something and said to tell you to notify him if anything changed and you felt you needed his attention. I will give you my cell phone number as well as his so that you can find him if need be, particularly when you're home alone with Charlie." Oh crap! Once again I had forgotten to contact my mother, and it was almost 11pm! She would be beside herself, I was shocked that she hadn't already called my cell phone. I relayed my concern to Edward who was standing a couple of feet away from me. He agreed it was time to go and the next thing I knew, Alice was once again embracing me, and as I pulled away from her to avoid squishing my sandwich she said "Im very glad that Edward was able to help you this evening." I looked at her as she released me from her grip, and spoke "Me too, and Thank you all for helping me and even figuring out a way to keep this from Charlie and Renee! I don't know how I could ever repay you." "Well, if you really want to, how about you agree to go shopping with me in Seattle one day?" "ALICE!" Edward's voice was sharp as he objected to his sister's request. "What? She may want to go, YOU don't know for once! Hah!" Alice replied. I decided to prevent any further issues and said "Alice, I would love to go shopping in Seattle with you one day, I don't know how it would be possible though because I wouldn't be able to leave Charlie for that length of time." Not surprisingly she just smiled and said "I thought you might say that, so I asked Carlisle and he's agreed to go sit with Charlie so that you could get away!" Well, she had a point, who better to look after him than a doctor? "Ok, that works, I will get your phone number from Edward when we get to my house." I noted she was practically vibrating from excitement as Edward shook his head and led me to the door. **

**On the way home I called Renee and let her know I would be there soon. I ate the sandwich, drank the soda, and contemplated the night overall. Edward was quiet and I think he knew that I was thinking about the events of earlier. He didn't push or pry thankfully, and when we pulled in front of Charlie's house I turned to look at him. "Thank You, again, so many times. I don't even know how…" and his forefinger was once again pressed gently against my lips. "Shh, don't even worry about it, you just being alive is worth anything I might have had to tend to" he said. Why what an odd thing for him to say, I thought to myself. I had questions, many of them, but in my current state of mind I was in no shape to ask them. So I would have to wait, which was fine with me, I had a ton of things to concern me within the next day or so.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer****:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Chapter 5**

**I did manage to sleep that night, with the aid of ½ of one of Carlisle's magic pills. I cannot remember dreaming with the exception of one particular scene. I dreamed that Edward Cullen kissed me. I liked it, and as if in recognition of my need for something great to happen to me lately, the scene looped through my brain repeatedly. Over and over, he reached out, gently placed his hand at the base of my skull, burying his hand in my hair and leaned down. He bored into my eyes with his, searching for my very soul it seemed, and quite possibly he found it. Suddenly his lips crashed into mine, moving with such precision that I stopped breathing momentarily. His other hand came to rest on the side of my face, caressing my skin in feather-light touches. It was always at this point that his lips would form against mine and I would hear him whisper "Bella…" Then the images would fly away like a thousand butterflies. The thought caused my heart to race and feel as if I were going to shatter all at once. But I would stir slightly and drift back off again, the scene replaying once again. I'm not certain how many times it happened, but I woke feeling better than I had in a long time for some reason. It was a feeling of peace, like the world had righted itself after being askew just slightly for as long as I could remember.**

**I found myself humming a couple of times as I went through my morning routine that day, and was completely unsure as to why. Was it because I knew Charlie would be coming home in hours? There was the possibility that it was because of my dreams the night before, but as I thought about it, that seemed ludicrous to think that some simple dreams could give me such a feeling of total peace. This was even moreso apparent when I went to take my shower and came face to mirror with the large, ugly, purple bruise marks left on my breast by my would be attacker. How on earth could I feel this way when I had been so terrified less than a day ago? Then again, I had slept better than I had since this whole ordeal had begun, so that had to count for something. Remembering about last night made me think of my truck and I looked out the window. **

**Sure enough, there it sat in all its glory, rusty red paint and all in the small driveway off to one side of the yard. I quickly dressed and hurried downstairs to go retrieve the tow truck bill from the glove compartment, wondering if they had examined it to see why it had so thoroughly betrayed me. I practically skipped down the stairs as my mother watched me from the kitchen table where she sat with her coffee and newspaper. "What's up with you dear? You look positively tickled about something." I thought about my response briefly before answering her, "Oh, just glad that Dad finally gets to come home today! I will be glad not to have to trek back and forth to the hospital every day just to see him. I'm going to go check on my truck and get the tow bill out of the glove box." She pursed her lips and frowned, "About that, Bella, I don't think I like the idea of that being your primary means of transportation the whole time you're here. I mean, I don't doubt Jacob's intentions to make sure it was reliable, but it obviously proved it wasn't last night, What if your friend Alice hadn' t been there to bring you home?" I sighed, I should have known this was going to be one our first conversations today, but I simply said "Yeah Mom, I know, but Jacob can take a look at it when he comes over later today. He should be able to fix it with no problem, it might have even been something I did wrong." I then darted out the front door to get to the truck to avoid further discussion of the matter.**

**I searched that truck from top to bottom, in every conceivable place for that billing statement, but came up empty-handed. What in the world? It had to be here somewhere, unless….. No, it couldn't be. There was no way I was going to let the Cullen's pay for MY tow bill! But it appeared as though that's what had most likely happened. I made a mental note to myself to call Edward in a little bit when I had some privacy. I also needed to call Jacob to let him know what it had done so he could bring any tools he might need. Unfortunately, I doubted any parts places that were around nearby would be open on Sunday, so I would have to figure out a way to school tomorrow. The most likely resolution would be to have Renee take me and catch a ride home with someone. Renee wouldn't be leaving until Tuesday evening, and I was sure that Angela would be more than happy to give me a ride.**

**I went back into the house, ate breakfast, called Jacob and gave him a rundown of the truck's behavior the night before, and quickly ran through the house to make sure everything was tidy. We had decided that the best bet would be for Charlie to be situated in his recliner in the living room during the day, and that I would help move him to his room to sleep at night. Given this, we placed the mini-fridge from the garage in place of the end table that normally sat next to his chair, that way he had easy access to his bottled water and such, and could use the top to sit items on, such as his medications that he would need during the day and remotes and such. We also made sure there were non-slip mats and a grab bar in the bathroom in case he became dizzy, as several of his medications described it as a side effect. To say I was getting nervous about whether or not I could handle what was before me would be a massive understatement. I feared that I would mix up his medications, or that he would fall and I would be unable to get him back to rights.**

**As the minutes ticked by, I got more and more panicked, finally pacing the floor in tears while I waited for them to get there with him. Renee had went to pick him up, since I wasn't quite 18 yet, I couldn't really sign his discharge care papers. She also thought it would be a good idea if I were already at home and had everything ready for when he came in the door. Renee called about 5 minutes later and said they were leaving the hospital, but had to stop at the pharmacy, and would be home in about forty-five minutes. If I wasn't fit to be tied at this point, I was now, I was only 17! What made me think I could do this? Was I crazy to have volunteered to do this? It was possible. When I had worked myself into a near frenzy, it suddenly occurred to me that I knew someone that could help me, if I allowed them to. I ran to the phone and called Edward's phone number before I could talk myself out of it.**

**He answered on the first ring, and almost sounded out of breath, "Hello?" I began to speak quickly, again not giving myself time to think twice, "Hi Edward, this is Bella, umm I was wondering if Carlisle was at home? I was thinking about everything and I'm suddenly petrified to be honest, do you think he could come over soon sometime and help me get Charlie's meds in some sort of order and make sure the house is ok and safe for him?" I had to stop if for no other reason than to catch my breath right then and he took the chance to get a few words in. "Yes Bella, he's home, hold on I will ask him." A few moments later he came back on the line and said, "He said he can come over now, if you'd like? Would you mind if I came with him? I can help him make sure that all the safety measures are sturdy and whatnot." I really stopped and thought about that question, and after a minute I said "Sure, I mean, no problem. Renee called a few minutes ago and said it would be about forty-five minutes." He said ok and goodbye, then hung up.**

**Whatever calm I felt from the fact that Carlisle was coming to help me was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that Edward was going to be IN my house. Suddenly the house felt very small and I found that I had raced upstairs to check my hair and clothes in the mirror in my bedroom. I looked ok, but knew that nothing could make me feel like I was anywhere close to his kind of woman. I had on a sapphire blue sweater with a big cowl neck that hung off of one shoulder, and a pair of my standard blue jeans, along with a pair of converse sneakers. This would have to be ok, regardless, I didn't have anything better to wear with the exception of a dress or two, but those felt too formal for this visit. Ugh! Why was I even worried about this? I berated myself for thinking that it mattered that Edward was going to be in my house. I finally got myself calmed down enough that I was able to make myself sit on the couch, but I sat up straight, not allowing myself to relax against the cushions for fear I wouldn't be able to make myself get back up and function when need be. **

**About twenty minutes later I heard a car approaching and the sound of two car doors shutting within quick succession, knowing it must be Edward and his father. Just a few seconds later I heard a quiet knock at the front door and finished making my way towards it. They both nodded and said hello quietly as they slipped past me into the small living room. Carlisle began by inquiring about Charlie's medications, "Well Bella, are all of his medications here, or are there any they had to pick up on the way home?" I replied "Renee was going to stop on the way home from the hospital with the remaining prescriptions, so they should be home in another few minutes. But the majority of them are already here in the kitchen, and we bought a divided pill organizer that has sections for four times a day. Is that ok?" He looked through the medications, refamiliarizing himself with all of them, most of which he had prescribed. I could imagine he wrote so many that there was no way he could remember which ones were for which patients without a chart in front of him.**

**We both sat down at the kitchen table with all the medications spread out before us and the organizer to put them together. Meanwhile, Edward moved around the living room, kitchen, stairs, bathroom, Charlie's bedroom, and any other rooms he might have to move through to look for hazards and to assure that they were properly equipped. Carlisle composed a list for me to simplify which meds belonged in which places on the organizer in a simple chart form. This should make my life loads easier than I had feared it would be. I felt embarrassed to have called Edward in such a tizzy, and I felt the need to apologize profusely for interrupting their afternoon. Unfortunately for me, neither Carlisle nor Edward would let me get far enough to speak the words. I would get cut off at "I'm so…" by one or both of them immediately. Carlisle finally said to me after about my 7****th**** attempt, "Bella, stop apologizing, you did nothing wrong. Actually, I was worried that you would feel overwhelmed but not be willing to ask for help. This is a huge relief to me to know that we can offer assistance and not be rebuffed. There is no need for you to shoulder all the burden of this at such a young age. We like Charlie immensely and have great respect for him, so any chance to help him through this difficult time is one we relish. We can't have anything bad happen to our wonderful chief of police, now can we?" He chuckled slightly. I nodded no, and laughed slightly myself. Everyone that I had met in town did seem to have a well deserved respect and admiration for my father. He was a very kind, just man who tried to help whenever he saw a need and people soon realized this after meeting him. **

**Just after this exchange, I heard the tires from Renee's rental car crunching on the gravel in the driveway. I nervously excused myself and went out to help her get him in the house. Carlisle had suggested my dad use a wheelchair for the first week or so that he was home, but of course my dad managed to convince him that he would be better off with a walker. After a week or so he would be able to start transitioning out of that too, until he was walking unassisted. When I got to the car, my mom was already out and pulling the walker out of the back of the small SUV she had rented when we got here. I went around and got dad's door, then helped get him positioned to stand. Goodness, I hadn't thought it would be such an arduous task, but it felt like it took forever to get him in the house and in his recliner. Once he was situated there, Edward helped me get the flowers and other miscellaneous items he'd had in his hospital room into the house while my mom gave Carlisle the new medications and was making some general inquiries from the sound of it. Carlisle then went into the living room to say hello to my dad and also to check his heart-rate and ask him a few questions about the trip home and how he was feeling. I stood behind my dad's recliner and placed my hands on his shoulders lightly, kissing the top of his head. I felt his hand reach up and pat mine on his shoulder, and I remembered that I had news he would want to hear. "Oh Dad, by the way, Billy and Jake are going to be here shortly to see you. Billy's chomping at the bit to share the latest rez gossip apparently, and watch a ballgame on the flat screen. Oh, and Jake is going to look at and fix the truck while he's here hopefully, he said over the phone that it sounded like something in the ignition. He should be able to get it fixed by Tuesday evening when I have to go take Mom to the airport, and I will have her take me to school Monday and Tuesday then have someone bring me home after." He seemed happy with the idea of Billy coming over and anxious for Jake to find the problem with my truck and fix it. Billy had not been able to visit dad in the hospital because he was in a wheelchair and frequently sick, so they had recommended that he not expose himself to anything any nearby patients or visitors might have.**

**I decided at this point to put together his lunch and take it out to him so that he could enjoy it before Billy got here and they started talking. Jake and I joked that they were like two old ladies gossiping about nothing and everything. I quickly had his lunch together as I had already mostly prepared it so that the chicken could cool. I placed the salad in a bowl, topping it with the sliced grilled chicken breast that I had marinated in italian dressing, then drizzling a small amount of some more Italian dressing over it. I took it out to him, finding that Edward had apparently heard what I was doing and grabbed one of the tv tray tables and set it up in front of my dad, and had even grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge. I sat the bowl down in front of him and helped him get adjusted to a comfortable way to lean to eat. I chose this time while he was eating to have Carlisle show me the remainder of his medications and how to sort them properly into the pill organizer. Once this was finished, Carlisle announced that it was time for them to leave us so that Charlie could rest and enjoy his other company when they got there. I followed them outside, thanking Carlisle and Edward once again and relaying the same sentiment from Charlie and Renee. Once again, Carlisle was too gracious to easily accept and thanked me for allowing them to help me. He said lastly, "Bella, if there is anything you need help with, especially after your mother is gone, please don't hesitate to call us." After I assured him that I wouldn't, he turned and walked towards his Mercedes, smiling. Edward simply stood there for a moment, looking almost nervous, strangely enough. He took a slight step towards me, then ducked his head and ran his hands through his tousled hair. Dear Lord, it should be illegal for a simple move like that to affect me the way it did. I felt it a heat course all the way down to my toes from my face, which I'm sure was bright red at the moment. He glanced back up and apparently noticed my blazing skin, because he stumble over his next words. "Bella, I know this seems odd, and believe me I wish it were better timing on my part, but would you do me the honor of going out with me?" I was fairly certain I couldn't have heard him right, but right now my ears were buzzing fiercely, just like they did before I passed out. I reached out in my dizziness and felt my hand catch onto Edward's arm. "Huh, I'm sorry I must have heard you wrong, what were you saying?" He smiled that wonderful slightly crooked smile, that one that melted my heart, took my breath, and stole my legs from under me. "No," he said "you heard me correctly, I asked if you would go out with me." **

**I'm not sure if my brain went into overdrive or stopped functioning completely at that point, although I would have bet my new mp3 player that it was the latter of the two. I started to sag towards the ground as sparkles intruded on my line of vision suddenly, but of course he caught me around the waist and called for Carlisle. It was in that split second I realized I had actually been holding my breath, actually waiting for him to tell me he was joking I guess. Carlisle looked at my eyes, checked my pulse, and squeezed and released a couple of my fingertips. He noticed the way I was gulping air at that point and asked if I had asthma to which I replied that no I did not, I had just lost my breath. He smiled knowingly and told me that I needed to relax a little, I was stressing myself and that I should just take everything one thing at a time. Hah! He obviously had no idea that his son had just turned my universe upside down. Well, my new one that I was trying to create in Forks in any case. He returned to the car and waited patiently for Edward while I regained my ability to stand without help.**

**I looked up at him and swallowed audibly, trying to figure out what to say. "I, ummm, I donno, I mean, I would love to, but Renee leaves Tuesday and I have to watch after Charlie when I'm not in school." He smiled that smile again at me, flashing his perfect white teeth in the process, replying "Well, Carlisle said that if you would like to go, he could come over and sit with your dad while we go to dinner or something. It would give him a chance to check on his progress in detail and he could also refill the medication organizer to give you a little more time to adjust to that task. What do you think?" I stuttered once again trying to form words, a small hard knot forming in my stomach. "Errr, I umm, I guess that would be ok, although I would like to ask Charlie and make sure he is comfortable with the idea. When were you thinking about going?" My mind raced as I thought about the fact that I had nothing at all to wear on a date, much less to go out with someone like him. He looked thoughtful for a moment and responded "Well, maybe next Sunday? That way it would be in a week, and would be time for the med box to be refilled." I didn't think that was going to work, seeing as how I needed to buy some clothes to wear for the occasion, and had not had the chance yet to go shopping with Alice. She had just asked me last night I recalled, although it seemed weeks ago. I finally said "Well, I promised Alice I would go shopping with her, and figured we would do that next Saturday. So I hate to leave Charlie two days in a row, plus I kind of need to go shopping….I don't have anything to wear." I fully admit that I mumbled the last part of that sentence and was hoping he wouldn't have heard it. Of course I was wrong, proven so when he said "Bella, please tell me you aren't talking about not having anything to wear on a date with ME. You could wear a paper sack and I wouldn't care. As a matter of fact, that sweater is absolutely beautiful on you." I didn't know what to say to this, and I of course blushed profusely as I kicked at the gravel with the toe of my shoe. "Please just be yourself" he said as I looked up at him and into those amber pools that so frequently came to me unbidden.**

"**Ummm, ok I guess. I just hate to impose on Carlisle so much, are you sure it won't interfere with his work schedule?" I said, scowling. "No, he's the Chief of Medicine, but they try to give him weekends off because of us. Plus he has some great doctors working for him. They only page him in the direst cases, unless he has a patient that he's following closely. In that case, they just call his cell with any changes for the worse" he said simply, pausing once again to dazzle me with his smile. I guess it would be good to have a real doctor keeping tabs on my dad. It wasn't like I'd had medical training to know what to look for in case he had symptoms. I didn't know how to do much past taking his blood pressure, medically speaking anyhow. "Ok, it will make me feel better to know help is right there if I'm not able to be here. Ummm, what time do you want me to meet you or whatever?" He glanced balefully at my truck- dead as a doornail sitting in the yard, saying "How about I pick you up here at 6pm Sunday evening? We can drive into Port Angeles. I know a great little Italian ristorante there." "Ok, sounds like a plan. Oh, there's Jake's car coming. I guess I should get inside to make sure the walkway's clear for Billy- (wheelchair ya know?) Oh, could you ask Alice to call me so that we can schedule our shopping trip?" I said. "Sure, although you do realize that you don't have to actually go if you don't want to, don't you?" right then his cell phone chimed and he slipped it out of his pocket to look at it. He sighed, "Alice says she will call you this evening to plan your trip to Seattle." he said, laughing.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer****:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Chapter 6**

**He and Carlisle left right after that and I found my way back towards the house. My dad must have heard Billy and Jake come up, because he was trying to get out of his chair when I got into the house. Mom must have been in the laundry room or somewhere that she couldn't hear his chair squeak. "You sit back down, mister! I can let them in" I said to him. He grumbled and put his recliner back again as the knock on the door came. Jake pushed Billy in "Hey Bells!" came their greeting in tandem. I hugged both of them and said "Hey Billy, Hey Jake!" It was then that I realized I had to look up, and I mean way up at Jake. "Holy crow! Growth spurt much kid? You're like, 3 or 4 inches taller than two weeks ago. That just can't be! Do you have on lift shoes to mess with me or something?" He laughed and said "Nope, no lift shoes here, maybe you're shrinking!" We bantered back and forth for a couple of minutes before he asked about the truck and I tossed him the keys, nodding my head towards the kitchen door. He bounced out and I took Billy a drink, grabbing a water for my dad. I then sat down on the couch and listened to the two of them catch up on all the gossip from Forks and the LaPush Reservation.**

**After about thirty minutes, Jake's head popped in the kitchen door and said, "Hey Bells, can you come out here for a minute?" I jumped up and trotted out the door, heading to where he was leaning up against the truck with the hood up. Then I noticed his expression and said, "Uh Oh, what's wrong? Is it beyond repair?" I realized I was dreading the answer. He just shook his head no and looked at me curiously. "No, there's actually nothing wrong with it. It's been fixed already." he sounded slightly disappointed.**

"**What the hell do you mean Jake? The tow truck brought it here from Port Angeles and I know I haven't had anyone work on it" I said. Well, there's a new ignition in it, that was undoubtedly the problem. It would cause it to do what you said it did. Either that or the alternator, which was replaced as well" I gawked at him. But how, what? I couldn't wrap my brains around it.**

**Realization dawned on me and I knew I must have been muttering to myself as it did. It was the only thing that made sense, the Cullens had requested the truck towed and fixed immediately and paid for the bill. That must have been why I couldn't find one in the glove compartment when I had searched for it, as well as everywhere else I knew to look for it in the cab. But why? It made no sense for them to be so generous to me, someone they barely knew, although Edward had asked me out just a little while ago. As the memory of that played itself through my mind, I began to blush furiously. Gah! What was wrong with me? Why had I practically fainted in his arms when he did that? How much more like a silly, overly sensitive, twitchy freak could I have made myself look? I heard a snap and looked up to see Jacob snapping his fingers in front of my face trying to get my attention.**

**Ugh, I could be such a loser sometimes!**

"**Oh, sorry Jake, guess I was off in my own little world. I'm not quite sure what happened with the truck, I'm going to have to make a few phone calls. But I guess that let's you off the hook as far as fixing it today. I'm sure we can find something else to do, other than listening to the town gossips in there that is." I nodded as he gave me a knowing smile. "Well, we could always make some mud pies, you know, take it old school" he laughed. I stood there for a minute, considering what we could possibly do to fill the time. Suddenly I remembered that I had an old video game system upstairs in my closet from when I used to visit here and still had a couple of my old favorite games. "Hey, remember when we used to play those video games? I still have them upstairs, wanna hook it all up and play on the TV in my room?" His eyes sparked at my suggestion and he was practically running for the house as he said "Hurry up slow poke! Let's go so I can school you!"**

**We stopped for a minute and told dad and Billy what we were going to go and then headed upstairs to my bedroom. I had to dig for a few minutes in order to find the box containing my old game system and the few games I had left here several years ago. Upon untangling all the cords and plugging everything in at the appropriate points, I turned on the TV and loaded my favorite game. I hoped he would have forgotten what to do and I would be at an advantage, I guess we would see. He handed me my controller as I sat down on the bean bag chair from the corner and said "Ok, so what is the deal with the story of this game anyhow, I never really got it, I just know in the first part you kill zombie monsters." I laughed, I guess it had been a few years and that he was therefore a lot younger back then. "Well, the main character is a half human, half vampire, and she finds out that her father is an evil vampire who is trying to take over the world basically. So she decides to go after him because her mother tells her she's the only one who can destroy him. He sets off a virus to destroy the humans which turns them into zombies, which she has to fight and destroy, while trying to save as many humans as she can on her mission to find her father and get rid of him." He nodded "Ok, gotcha. I sort of remember now. I think we got about halfway through it didn't we?" "Yeah, I think so" I said.**

**We played in quiet except for the occasional crow of victory or grunt of defeat as we fought our way through the zombies in the game. About thirty minutes later he finally spoke, "Hey did you know there are vampires in the legends of my tribe? The stories say that they attacked our people and that some of the men in the tribe transformed into werewolves to protect the tribe. Isn't that crazy?" I nodded my head and he continued as we played. "Then legend says a coven of them were caught hunting on our land, but they were different. They claimed they only drank the blood of animals and the chief believed them because their eyes were not the same as those of the previous vampires he had come across. They formed a treaty and each agreed to stay on their own land because the vamps wanted to stay in the area for a while and live peacefully. As long as they lived up to the treaty and no humans were harmed by them, they were allowed to stay and we would keep their secret from the pale faces because they lived and walked amongst them." I found his story hard to believe to say the least but didn't say so, I didn't want to offend him by saying it was just an old story, and that it couldn't possibly be true. I respected Billy and Jacob very much as well as the people of their tribe and all Native Americans in general, and I knew that to disrespect their stories was the same as disrespecting a Christian or a Catholic person's faith. I had never been much for going to church, and my parents hadn't pushed me because neither of them went much either. I did believe that there was a greater power, I just didn't think that I had the knowledge to assume what it was, male or female, or what it wanted to be called. Plus, I felt that it was acceptable to pray in my own home, knowing that I was doing it within my heart and soul, moreso than to do it in public sitting next to someone just so they would see me and say they did. I didn't often talk religion with anyone, or politics for that matter, mostly because politics was too frustrating to me and my religious beliefs weren't something that I thought should be anyone's business but my own. We are each responsible for our own souls and our actions.**

**Jacob paused the game and looked at me curiously, as if gauging my reaction to what he had just said. I had to think of something to say so I asked "Well what happened to the werewolves? I'm assuming they aren't around anymore since the vampires aren't supposedly around anymore either, are they?" He laughed and said "Well, legend says that when the vampires left, the tribesmen that were wolves stopped phasing and it was just passed on through the bloodlines in case any ever came back." Judging by his tone and expression, I honestly didn't know if he believed any of it, he seemed skeptical to say the least. Taking this in, I knew he wouldn't feel upset at a little joke, so I said "So are you going to wolf out on me?" He cracked up at that and said "I seriously doubt that Bells, although my grandfather, Ephraim Black, was said to have been one of the ones that phased. My dad says he can't ever recall it happening as far as he knows, so I'm not really sure it ever happened at all." Well I guess that answered that question, the dork was just trying to scare me or something. I smacked him on his arm, "Ow, hey what was that for?" he said laughing. "That was for telling me such a crazy story, when you probably don't even believe it yourself!" I laughed at him as he held onto his arm like I had actually hurt him. I actually thought I had hurt myself, my hand was still stinging for some reason. That boy was bulking up, as well as growing taller apparently. I wondered if he had gotten tangled up in steroids. I knew it was a terrible thought to have about the person that was, for all intents and purposes, my best friend here, but I also knew how prevalent drug and alcohol abuse was among the populations on the reservations. It was a source of news stories around the reservations here just like it had been in Arizona, where we had lived prior to moving to Florida for my stepdad Phil to take a job there. I shook my hand and said "Geez kid! Break my hand why don't ya? What are you taking to make you bulk up so fast?" My joke quickly became serious as I looked at him. His head jerked up and he said "I am NOT taking anything, I swear Bells, you know I would never do that! I'm just going through some weird growth spurt, my hair is growing like crazy, as well as the rest of me!" He waggled his eyebrows at me suggestively and laughed at my instant blush at his insinuation. "Oh, Jake, ewwww! That is T.M.I. buddy! You are just wrong!" I practically yelled at him, but started laughing despite myself. He always knew how to turn a conversation from serious to joking in a heartbeat, it was just in his nature.**

**We finished up with the game and I decided to leave it plugged into the TV in my room, so we just straightened up the cords and controllers on the small entertainment center and headed downstairs. I hadn't realized until that it was dark outside, and I noticed the time finally, it was almost 9p.m.! I looked at Billy and my dad, who were still talking and seem as oblivious to the time as I had been. Jacob bounced down the last 3 steps in one leap and landed about as quietly as an elephant, "Hey Charlie, Bells hit me! Hehe, ground her!" If I hadn't still been able to feel the earlier smack like an imprint on my palm, I would have smacked him again. Luckily Charlie was clearly in a good mood and just said, "Well if she smacked you, I'm fairly certain you deserved it!" He chuckled. Next Billy chimed in, "Yeah, me too!" We all started laughing and I heard my mom in the kitchen cleaning up, so I excused myself to go help her. She and my dad had finished the salad with grilled chicken for supper, while I had completely forgotten about eating. Oh well, I could be happy with a sandwich, it wouldn't be the first time I had gotten preoccupied and forgotten to eat. Most days, when my mom wasn't around I cooked full meals, not with dessert mind you, but I had enough cooking background behind me, I felt no hesitation in trying the many recipes that I had found for my dad. I knew that a healthy diet was something he had been lacking for a while. Oh there was nothing wrong with the diner he went to all the time, or The Lodge, which he visited about once every 2 weeks. It was simply that he didn't exactly make healthy choices when he went to them. It was always red meats, lots of starches and cheeses, and not a lot of vegetables. As bad as he hated it, that was about to change dramatically. I would not allow him to take back up such horrible habits while I was there with him.**

**Billy yawned, and Jake took that as his cue, walking over to stand behind his father's wheelchair. "Ok dad, are you ready to go, Charlie's had enough gossip for one night I think, and he looks tired." Billy nodded and after they shook hands, he and Charlie said goodnight, with he and Jake issuing good-byes to my mother and myself, Jacob began wheeling him towards the front door. "Later Bells, call me if you have any other problems with the truck please." I responded, "Ok, will do, you guys be careful and have a good night." And with that, they left the house and I heard the vehicle roar to life in the yard before it drove off. The phone rang and I realized that I was supposed to be expecting a call from Alice. I answered the phone and walked to my bedroom so that I wouldn't disturb my mother or father. We talked briefly, and decided after some deliberation and a little hesitancy on my part to go shopping the upcoming Saturday so that I could get something to wear on my date. I agreed to let Carlisle sit with my dad while we were gone, which meant that he would end up being here Saturday and Sunday, thinking to myself that I was gonna owe him big. We finally said goodbye after about 10 minutes and I went back downstairs. I sat down on the couch for just a minute and looked at the TV, as it had been going almost silently while my dad and Billy had been talking. I grabbed the remote and turned the volume up and changed the channel to the animal channel. Funnily enough, they were doing a special on wolves. I watched for a few minutes, and must have dozed off because I awoke to my mom shaking me gently and telling me it was almost time for bed. It was now 11:15 p.m. and I had slept for almost two hours on the couch with my arms folded across my chest and my head leaned back. I stood up and stretched, looking to my dad to see if he was awake, and noticed that he was dozing. I walked over and gently tapped his shoulder, afraid I would hurt or startle him, but he just opened his eyes and said "Hey Bells, mind helping your old man get up to bed?" I helped him stand and grab onto his walker, then we moved slowly across the living room, up the stairs very carefully, and then into his bedroom. I helped him take his robe off and then walk into the bathroom, where I left him for a couple minutes to do his routine, then we headed back to the bed where I helped him crawl in and get comfy, covering him up. I happened to think of something as I leaned over him to kiss his forehead, and said "Oh yeah, thanks for the roses dad, I've really enjoyed them." He looked blankly at me, "Bells, what are you talking about, I haven't sent you any flowers. I wish I had thought to, considering all you've been doing around here." This threw me for a loop completely.**

**I paced in my room for about 15 minutes, glancing occasionally at the bouquet sitting on my desk with its delicate lavender blooms, interspersed with the splash of brightness the fuchsia's added. The white of the miniature roses and babies breath seem to add a crispness to the arrangement. If not my father, then who? Who could have possibly known that I so loved these roses in particular other than he or my mother. Clearly it had not been her, as evidenced by her surprise and excitement when they came. The only other person that had known about these was my Gram, and she had been gone now for 5 years, so I couldn't blame it on her. This was just getting weirder and weirder by the day, and if I hadn't known better, I would have blamed Edward for the flowers too. I was positive that he had something to do with my truck being fixed, although I wasn't exactly sure how, since he and most of his family had been with me during most of the time someone would have had to be working on it. The only ones that weren't there were Rosalie and Emmett, and I definitely couldn't imagine the blonde perfect goddess underneath the hood of a car getting greasy. Maybe Emmett had fixed it, or maybe they'd just paid someone to do it, probably the same one that towed it. Yes, that made the most sense, that had to be it. Come on, Bella, think rationally! I prodded myself toward the bed out of my pacing path. Today had been a really long day with a lot happening, and I needed to simply decompress. I dressed quickly for bed, throwing on my Curious George pajamas, then went to the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth. Then I washed my face and headed back to my room. I grabbed my mp3 player and lay down on the bed with it and surrounded myself with pillows in my usual fashion, with them supporting me at my back and in front of me, sleeping on my side with my arm thrown over one as though around another body. This was when the loneliness reared its head. Oh I had been out of a few dates, but had never even been kissed in a romantic way. I closed my eyes and drifted off quickly to my music.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer****:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Chapter 7**

The following week went by fairly quickly after my mom's flight back to sunny Florida left on Tuesday evening. I was going to miss her, but I was actually starting to get into a routine with Charlie's care and working around my school schedule. We had talked about my plans for the weekend, and even though I had told him I would cancel them if he wanted me to, he insisted that I get out of the house and away from him. I jokingly asked him if he was getting tired of me, and he simply looked at me and said, "No, but you have suitcases under your eyes, and you need a break. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks, so you were stressed from that, and now you're stressed from taking care of me. Go! I will be fine, Carlisle and I get along well, although why he and his wife have adopted so many kids I have NO idea! Especially as young as they look, they can't be older than their mid-thirties." And with that it was settled, I would go shopping on Saturday with Alice in Seattle, and would go out with Edward Sunday evening to Port Angeles for dinner. Charlie and I got along well, and I didn't have to worry about him during the day because a home health nurse came to check on him while I was in school.

I did finally manage to get some sleep on Wednesday and Thursday nights, perhaps due to exhaustion, perhaps due to the fact that I was looking forward to my weekend plans with Alice and Edward. The only person at school that I had told was Angela, and she was very supportive, also proving herself to be trustworthy by not mentioning it to anyone we knew. She was particularly careful around our lunch crowd, which I appreciated beyond words because I didn't want to hear their disparaging comments about either of the two and/or be gawked at because I was doing what no other student had since the family had moved to Forks. I was hanging out with not one, but two of them, one of which that was actually more than hanging out, it was a date. To say I was nervous about that was the understatement of the century, and I had no clue as to what I was going to find that I could wear and feel comfortable in, yet still look good. I was sure that Alice would have ideas, she was always impeccably dressed in what seemed to be designer clothing with very expensive price tags, but she was just going to have to shop at my level on Saturday no matter how bad I wanted some pretty concoction she showed me. I was working with a budget that couldn't afford to be stretched since it was actually coming from my college savings account! I also didn't want Charlie to feel like he had to give me money, mostly due to the fact that I knew he was using all of his sick and vacation days up with this illness so that he could get paid for the time. He would be able to return to strictly desk duty in about a month, and that was going to be pushing it. I had told him I had some money saved up from working odd jobs back in Florida so as not to worry him about my college fund. It was going to be one outfit, how bad could that be?

On Friday afternoon, Angela and I were walking from our last class to my truck. Her car was in the shop, so I had been giving her a ride home from school in the meantime. It also gave us a chance to talk without anyone else's ears being privy to what we were saying. Today I think she was almost excited about my date as I was, as well as about my shopping trip. I would have to plan one with her, once my money was replaced and I could swing it, maybe we could go to Port Angeles to the mall. They had a good variety of stores, or so at least she claimed, I hadn't been there in years, since I was a little girl visiting my dad. We lingered a little longer than usual in her driveway when I dropped her off, talking, well mostly her talking. She was imagining what my date was going to be like, and I didn't mind, hell it wasn't like it was anything I had been imagining myself over the last few days. We did disagree on one big point however, she thought he was going to kiss me, and I seriously doubted this idea. Why on earth would she think he would do that?

I woke early on Saturday morning so that I could wash my hair and let it air dry before Alice got there to pick me up. I liked to let my hair air dry and scrunch the natural curls into life whenever I got the chance so that it saved my hair the damage of the blow dryer. I made sure that everything was in order for Carlisle's visit downstairs and that my dad was comfortable sitting in his recliner with his remote, and that there was bottled water. I also double checked that the meds were where they should be in the organizer. I was double checking my hair and the light makeup I had applied when I heard two cars approach and two car doors shut in tandem. I bounded down the stairs and grabbed the door just before her little fist made contact with it, and she looked at me, beaming in her excitement. Carlisle was right behind her, and I could see that he had brought with him a puzzle book and a pen. It really didn't surprise me that he enjoyed doing those in his spare time. "Hey guys, umm, Dad this is Alice, and you remember Dr. Cullen of course." My dad nodded and cleared his throat "Yes, of course. Thank You for coming Dr. Cullen, and Alice, thanks for taking care of Bella that night in Port Angeles. You girls have fun and be careful in Seattle." We both nodded and said "We will!" at the same time, then we both laughed at our timing. Carlisle looked at us, smiled, then looked at my dad, "Please call me Carlisle, Chief Swan." To this my father replied "Ok, then you call me Charlie." They both nodded at the same time and Alice and I laughed once again. Ok, looked like it was time to head out, it was almost 9:30 a.m.

We made a quick exit as Carlisle already knew where most everything was from his previous visit, and got into a car that I didn't recognize the model of. This did not surprise me though, I wasn't very versed in knowing the makes and models of cars. The only reason I knew what year and model my truck was, was due to Jake having told me. I noticed that the key didn't look like a key, and even had some sort of crystal or something on it, and the ignition, if that's what it was, looked crystal around it as well. What kind of car was this? More than that, how much did something like this cost? I couldn't stand it, so I gave in to my curiosity. "Alice what the hell kind of car is this?" The end of my question was interrupted by the roar of the engine, sounding much like a jet preparing for takeoff. Whoa, that was loud! Then it settled into a low purr as she patted the dashboard lovingly and stated simply "It's a 2010 Aston Martin DB9. I wasn't allowed to drive either of the convertibles, so I picked this one." winking at me as she said this. I couldn't believe I was sitting in an Aston Martin! Even I knew they were VERY expensive cars, to put it mildly. The leather was butter soft and the seat seemed as though it were molded to fit my body specifically. I wasn't even going to ask how much this thing was, but boy was Jake going to have a fit when he found out I rode in one of these! Plus, I was certain he would know how much one was, if my curiosity really got the better of me about it later.

By this point in my musings, Alice had reached the interstate and before I realized it, we were doing close to 100 miles an hour! That was about where I started screeching, "ALICE! What are you DOING? Are you trying to get us killed or arrested? Holy Crow!" She apparently found the ideas amusing and started laughing at me, then she cocked her head to the side and her eyes glazed over. She then blinked and turned to look at me, smiling she said "Nope, I see no death or even a ticket, so stop worrying! Oh Bella, I always drive like this, we all do. It will be ok, I promise. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, we'll be there before you know it." I looked at her and couldn't hold back from saying "You said you didn't SEE either of those things. What did you mean by that Alice? I know about Edward's particular, umm, "skill" I guess you would say, but he didn't tell me that any of the rest of you had any "skills". And Edward didn't drive like this when he brought me to your house and home that night!" "Oh Bella, he didn't drive like he normally does that night because he was afraid it would traumatize you further. As far as my um, "skill" as you put it, I am different, sort of like Edward, but I actually can see the future as it is determined by the decisions all of us make. I concentrate on a person and their immediate future and see what is going to happen, if they change their mind about something that affects that immediate future, then I see what happens then too. Our decisions affect the outcome in even very simple situations, a lot of times they can make more of a difference than what we may think are the big decisions." I sat there with my mouth gaped open like a fish and she reached over to push my lower jaw up to make my lips meet again. "Bella, Edward, Jasper and I are the only ones that have abilities like that. The rest d-" I interrupted her, "Jasper? What does Jasper do?" She looked as though she was debating on whether she should tell me and her eyes glazed over again for just a split second and then were back to normal again as she began to explain. "Well, Jazz can sense emotions, as well as being able to send out whatever emotions he wants to whoever is around. He wanted to calm you that night at our house, but Carlisle needed to know exactly how you were feeling with no manipulation. I think he did send you some calm as you were leaving though." To say this was all becoming a bit much for me to grasp was putting it lightly. How was all of this possible? As for what Alice had just said, I guess it made sense that he would need to see me in the state I was as-is to determine how much shock I was in. I also recall feeling at peace when we left, until I called Renee that is, and had to relay the lie we had concocted to her. I admit my voice had shaken a bit during that conversation. I would have to ask Edward about all this later on tomorrow or some other time.

We traveled a little ways further until I could tell we were in Seattle by the looming buildings and busy streets. She brought us to a huge mall, probably one of the biggest I've ever seen, and quickly found 2 parking spaces that she could park catty-cornered in to at least try to protect the car. We made our way into the main entrance and moved through the bustling crowd with Alice slightly leading, guiding us from one store to the next. I tried on hundreds of outfits it felt like, although it was probably only dozens as she swirled around me like the Tasmanian Devil, tossing things into the dressing rooms. It seemed that Alice liked having living Barbie dolls to dress up, and although she was very good at it, I was flummoxed by the prices of some of the items and turned them down immediately. She would just put her little pixie-ish hand on her hip and shake her head at me, mumbling things that sounded like "stubborn" and "blind". I wasn't that into designer clothing and that seemed to completely throw her off, but she persevered and kept tossing them at me. When she got finished with me in a couple of the stores, she would ask me to go on to the bookstore or something nearby that I was interested in because she wanted to try on a couple more things and didn't want me to have to wait for her. So I would find a nearby store and wander around the racks and shelves while she finished up, with her coming to get me to go into the next room of mirrors.

We did find a pair of reasonably priced jeans with an embroidered design down the left legand a beautiful, sumptuously soft sapphire blue shawl collar wrap sweater with a leather buckle at the side that matched the color of the jeans detailing. I remembered Edward's comment about the sweater of a similar shade I had recently worn, and decided it would be perfect, until I saw the price tag that is. The thing was $500.00! There was no way on earth that was happening, never in a million years could I justify spending that much on a sweater.I handed it back to Alice and asked her to put it back and noticed the strange look she gave me and then she cocked her eyebrow as if to ask why. I just looked down at it lying in her hands and said "I really do like it, but it's wayyy over my budget, do you think we could find something in a similar color but less expensive? It looks amazing with those jeans I want to get for tomorrow. I'm not even really sure why it's that expensive, but I just can't do that." She looked at me as if my head had rolled off into the floor and continued to speak and said, "Bella, this is Ralph Lauren Black Label! It's about a hundred dollars off! It looked like it was made for you, you can't possibly be serious, especially with those jeans." I just shook my head and said "Nope, I can't do it, there's no way, I can't even afford a total budget of that much, so how can I spend that on one piece? Just help me find something else in a similar color….pretty please?" She huffed rather indelicately, and said "Ok, but I just can't believe you aren't going to get this, stay here, I'll go find something…I just cannot believe this…." and she kept talking as she walked back out into the store. She did come back with a sweater in a similar shade that was off the shoulder as well as one in a brilliant jewel tone purple shade. She had apparently noticed the other color in the jeans as well. I actually decided to go with the purple one, not surprising considering it was my favorite color, but I just couldn't resist, plus it was much more reasonably priced at only $75. I checked out with my jeans and sweater, told her where I was going and found my way to Icing to look for some cute earrings to go with the outfit.

I didn't wear much other than simple stud earrings usually, but I found a great pair with tiny feather plumes layered in the colors from the embroidery on the jeans that I purchased. I went out to sit in the midway of the mall on a bench and wait for Alice, rifling through to find the earring bag to show her when she got there. I decided to make a quick call home to check on my dad, and found everything was going ok there, and just as I hit the end button, she walked up with about 3 bags from various stores we had visited. She must really love shopping because she was practically glowing. She said "Well, it's almost 2p.m., I'm famished, want to go get some lunch before we do anything else?" "Sure, where do you want to go?" I asked. "What about T.G.'s? I love their food there." she said. So we headed out to the car, barely managing to cram our bags into the back since the car didn't really have a trunk, but got it all in somehow. Then we climbed in and headed down the street a couple of blocks, to Friday's, hunted for parking places, then finally got inside where we learned there was about a 45 minute wait. I excused myself to the ladies room since it looked like we were going to be waiting a while, and freshened up a little before coming back. I was approached by a tall blonde girl of about 20 who said "Ma'am, please follow me." Umm, ok, I wondered where Alice had gone, but quickly saw her sitting back in a corner booth waving for me to join her. I slid into the booth seat across from her and thanked the blonde. I asked Alice "What happened, I thought we had to wait, like, 45 minutes?" She simply shrugged and said "Guess we just lucked up." Uh huh, yeah, I thought to myself. Had she bribed the hostess? I guess it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility, as apparently money was no object when it came to something one of the Cullens wanted. I wondered in a back corner of my mind that I would rather keep hidden just how much money they were worth. Shame on me, I shouldn't think like that. Wasn't it enough that they had been so kind to me and that Edward who was only, like, the hottest guy in school, had asked ME out? I guess the human mind just worked in certain ways and mine was no different, well, except for when it came to Edward's being able to read it.

We had a wonderful lunch, talked about all sorts of silly things, like some of the couples at school, the teachers we loved and hated, homework we had been given, (We didn't have any classes at the same times, but had the same teachers and assignments pretty much.) and what it was like living in places like Arizona and Florida. Finally, while we were splitting a piece of the most sinful vanilla bean cheesecake, she asked me about Edward. "So did you have any idea that he was going to ask you out? He said you seemed surprised" she seemed pleased with the idea. "Well, no. It was actually the furthest thing from my mind, especially after I ran into him at the hospital, he seemed kind of put off with me. But then he rescued me, and he sort of started acting differently around me, he didn't seem as uncomfortable around me. Still, though, I wasn't expecting it at all, I looked like hell that day and he hadn't said anything to indicate that was coming." She snorted slightly and laughed, "Bella, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but he actually ran into the door frame last weekend because he was so distracted after he asked you out!" Was she kidding me? I couldn't imagine Edward doing ANYTHING clumsy whatsoever! I started giggling, and actually snorted myself when I thought about what it must have looked like. After I finished my giggling fit, Alice insisted on paying the entire bill (of course), and we left the restaurant to head back to Forks.

We got back into the car and made the trip home in record time with Alice driving like a bat out of hell. I could only sit with my hands clenched in my lap, hoping that we wouldn't die or get pulled over. She was driving 110 miles per hour except for when we came into Forks off the interstate and through the town's streets. She pulled up in front of the house and put the car in park, reaching behind the seat. "Oh I can get my bags, Alice, you don't have to do that." I said as I unbuckled my seat belt and started to open the door. "It's no problem, you have 4, I can at least carry one, besides I figured I would go in and say hi to your dad. Just grab those 3 right there and I will be right behind you with the other one!" I nodded and grabbed them, then headed into the house. She walked in right behind me, and we stopped in the living room, speaking to my dad and Carlisle for a moment, then we ran upstairs to my bedroom. I had assured them both that I would be right back down so that Carlisle could get back to his family and I could spend time with my dad. It seemed strange to have been away from him other than at school, and I had to admit I did feel a bit guilty.

I put my bags down on my bed while I ran to my closet to grab a couple of hangers for the outfit I would wear the next day. I normally washed everything before I wore it so it wouldn't smell like the sizing they used, but wouldn't have enough to make a load of laundry of like colors to do that before tomorrow. I came back and rifled through till I found the jeans and hung them up first, then grabbed the sweater and did the same, putting them both on the back of my bedroom door. I then carefully removed the tags and lightly spritzed them with some fabric refresher to remove the smell of the store and sizing before tomorrow. I found my earrings in their small bag and put them on the dresser where I would be able to find them easily. Now that I was home, it occurred to me that perhaps I should have gotten something a little daintier to go in the cartilage in the top of my right ear. I had an earring in it, but it was a simple gauged corkscrew hoop with a bead on each end. I could wear regular earrings in it, I just never seemed to think to do it, so the corkscrew would have to do. While I was sitting on the bed, Alice had sat down on my bed and was leaning back on her hands, swinging her feet, which were dangling above the floor by about a full foot. The sight made her look even moreso like a pixie. I laughed slightly to myself, my bed was kind of high off the floor, that was the way I liked it. I tried to imagine her having to crawl up onto it to lie down and then jumping down off of it, but imagined she could probably do it with much more grace than I usually exhibited. But hey, I had managed to refrain from falling off of it so far at least. At this point I remembered my promise to Carlisle and said "Ok, guess I should get back downstairs so that you and your dad can get home to spend time with everyone." I started to walk out the door, looking back at her and she said, "Ok, be right there, I am going to use the ladies room real quick!"

I made my way down the stairs to find my dad and Carlisle surprisingly talking about hunting of all things. I hadn't really expected them to have much to talk about to be honest, but my father seemed enthralled by Carlisle's story. He was talking about hunting with his sons and taking down a grizzly bear! Apparently from what I heard, they had lived in another state that had a problem with them after one had attacked 3 hikers in the mountains. At this point I cleared my throat and they both looked up and smiled. I said "Carlisle, Alice will be right down. Again, thank you so much for coming, we had a really good time today." He quickly answered, "No problem Bella, as I said. Your father and I have enjoyed each other's company today. I don't get much opportunity to speak with men closer to my age that have teenagers, well that aren't somehow incapacitated in the hospital that is." he chuckled. My dad laughed too, and said "So, Bells, did you find something to wear on your umm, date?" he scrunched his nose up when he said the word "date". Typical father, he still hadn't adjusted to the fact that I was 17, almost 18 to be more precise, and that I had been out on dates before. My face still flared scarlet at his mention of the impending event however, and before I could make a remark to what he said, Alice came down the stairs to join us. She must have heard what he asked because she smirked slightly as she turned and gave me a hug, squeezing my shoulders lightly. Geez what was with these Cullens? They must work out as a family religiously, because she was solid as a rock too, just as I remember from running into Edward. Then again, that Emmett was a monster anyway, just from remembering seeing him at school. He had to be bigger than the school quarterback easily, and I wondered briefly to myself why he wasn't on the football team. "Well Bella, I had a wonderful time today, and I hope you did too! We'll have to do it again sometime!" I nodded my head and replied, "Yeah, that would be fun. And yes, I had a great time!" During this exchange, Carlisle had stood, and now he reached down and shook my father's hand, saying, "Well, Charlie, I will see you tomorrow at around 5:30 or so. Is that ok with you guys?" My father and I both said "Yes" simultaneously and laughed slightly at ourselves.

I walked them to the door, thanking them both again, and then returned to sit on the couch near my dad's chair. I asked him what he wanted for supper and after some deliberation, he finally answered. At this I got up and went into the kitchen and started preparing his food. We actually both ate at the kitchen table together for the first time that evening. He had been sitting in his recliner with a tray table to eat since coming home from the hospital, but he felt like changing it up, and I encouraged it. He returned to the living room and began watching a ballgame of some sort while I cleaned up the kitchen and put up the leftovers for his supper the next night. I then decided that I needed to check my email for any messages from my mother, as she emailed me about every other day. I was due for one, so I let him know to yell if he needed me. I planned to finish that up quickly, then move into the bathroom for a nice long hot bath so that I could shave and then that would just leave washing my hair as the priority for tomorrow afternoon's shower. I found myself humming as I made my way up the stairs and opened the door to my room.

I squeaked loudly when I looked at my bed. Lying stretched out on it was the sapphire Ralph Lauren Black Label sweater I had tried on in the store! What had that little fashion fiend done? There was no way I could keep this! I knew it must have been when she asked me to wait for her while she "tried on a few more things". That was the only opportunity she'd had to do such. I snatched my cell phone off the dresser and sent her a text -Alice, what the HELL?- and hit send. Almost before I thought it had the chance to get to her, my phone said its usual "Woohoo! Somebody done sent me a text message!" in an excited sort of kid's voice, and I hit the button to read it. -*I had to do it, you will wear it tomorrow so that you can dazzle my brother, that other sweater looks great, but the Ralph was made for you!*- she had responded. While I was still typing her name to ask her if she had lost her mind somewhere along the way to Seattle, my phone once again yelled excitedly and I tapped it to get the new message. -*And you can't return it because I removed the tags and have the receipt with me! So there! : P *- Oh man, this little pixie was devious, it was like she'd known what I was thinking. Was I so sure that SHE couldn't read my mind? Then it occurred to me, I had decided to take it back to Seattle at my first opportunity, so she must have been thinking about what I would do and saw it. But how could she see what I decided, yet Edward couldn't read my mind? Anyway, I didn't see a way around this, because I knew there was NO way I could take it back now, and no way she was going to let me pay her back for it either.

I sat down on my bed and ran my hand over the softness of the blasted thing, imagining the way it had felt and looked on me with those jeans. Oh well, I was going to have to accept it I guess, and if I didn't wear it tomorrow I was never going to hear the end of it, So I would keep it, wear it tomorrow, and then probably put it in a safe deposit box! I picked it up carefully, grabbed a hanger from the closet, and hung it up, putting it with the jeans. I removed the hanger with the purple sweater on it and hung it on a hook on my wall so that I would remember to wash it before wearing it. I would just have to resign myself to the fact that I now owned a $500 sweater! I gathered my pajamas and other necessities and made my way to the bathroom where I took a long hot bath, and plotted my revenge on the pixie. I finally climbed out, dressed, and completed my night time rituals. I then went downstairs and told Charlie that it was time for bed, it was almost midnight. I helped him get up to bed, made sure the doors were locked and everything was secure, and went to climb into my bed after turning off the lights. I must have somehow fallen asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow for more than 5 seconds. Once again I dreamed of Edward kissing me.

*Ok everyone, I received a review that said my bold font made it difficult to read so I decided to change it and see what you guys thought. Also, keep the reviews coming, they motivate me to write more and faster! Please let me know what you think, I have never written a fan fiction before, so I am learning. Please bear with me!*


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer****:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Chapter 8**

I awoke early the next morning with the same sense of anticipation a seven year old would have on Christmas morning, only with a twinge of anxiety added into it as well. I actually laid there for about fifteen minutes, simply staring at the alarm clock, waiting for it to go off. I would have normally just gotten up to start my routine a little ahead of schedule, but I was thinking too hard about things to be very productive at the moment. I was still mildly in shock over the issue of the sweater, I had never in my entire lifetime owned anything that expensive other than my truck, and my laptop, but certainly nothing clothes-wise. Then there was Edward himself, I still couldn't fathom him doing anything clumsy, much less running into a door frame because he was distracted. But the biggest shock to me above all of it was still the fact that he actually was interested in me and that it was enough of interest to make him distracted. Yes, I was excited, nervous, scared, and many other emotions I couldn't put a name to at the moment all at the very same time. I sat up on the side of the bed, throwing the covers to the side, then reaching over to cut off my alarm clock just as it started to beep at me. I did have some stuff to do today before I got ready for my date, so I gathered some basic clothes to wear until I got dressed later this evening, and headed into the bathroom to take my shower and wash my hair. I had intended to do it last night, but felt like a hot bath would serve me better, so I would take care of it now and let it air dry while I did my chores and errands.

I quickly rinsed off, then shaved and washed my hair, making certain I used my best smelling body wash and shampoo. I also did something I had taken the habit of since I had come to Forks. I spritzed myself with body spray and then with perfume along with my deodorant, and would do so again later that evening. I had never been one much for using such items before this, except my deodorant, and I guess it just didn't seem worth bothering with, even though I always had some on hand that I liked because my mom bought them for me as gifts. My perfume would please Alice I was certain, as it was the only thing designer in my room up until the day before. When I did wear it, I loved my True Religion perfume and the sweet woodsy sort of smell of my body spray. I had actually gotten a travel size of the body spray to keep in my purse since I had moved here for some reason. My mom would be proud, she'd always thought a woman should wear such things all the time pretty much.

I went about my chores as usual, and went to a couple of stores to pick up various items that we needed, making sure that I was back home with everything put up by 4:30p.m. As the day progressed, my nervousness transitioned to an almost desperate need to see Edward. I made sure Charlie was all set for a little while, then ran upstairs to change clothes, put on my makeup, and generally just let my craziness take over, just briefly. I decided against immediately putting on the new outfit, as I was afraid I would get too hot since the heat was on and my room was one of the warmer ones in the house. I put on my robe, and began applying my makeup carefully, trying to balance the subtly smoky eye I had taught myself to apply with the barely there, almost nude but not look that was my standard lately. I just didn't seem to have the time or energy when getting ready lately to do much else. My eyes and lips were my main focus of course, I had no doubt that my body would readily and willingly produce enough natural blush to sustain me throughout the night. The "Bella Blush" made its appearance even now as I stood there, simply thinking about tonight. Then the natural progression of my mind took me back to the dreams of the night before. Things had gotten a little more heated last night, as I had dreamt of Edward sweeping me up into his arms and carrying me to a giant bed. He laid me down, placing his body against mine facing each other, covering my face and neck with small hungry kisses, nibbling on my earlobe while he was at it. His hand fit in the dip above my hip bone at my waist perfectly, then suddenly, I would feel myself being shifted over and up. He placed both hands at my waist, pulling me on top of him, with me straddling his hips. It was at this point that I had woken up, just as I had looked down, with him pulling my hair to one side out of the way so that he could stare into my eyes with an unimpeded view. Oh, who was I kidding? I was in a full body blush right now!

I finished getting my makeup done, then dressed carefully, actually wrapping the sweater around me and fastening it with the leather strap instead of pulling it over my head. I slipped on a pair of simple black flats, my watch, the new earrings, and straightened my necklace, sliding the clasp to the back. My amber pendant didn't seem to quite fit the outfit, so I had switched it out earlier for a simple silver square with my initials monogrammed into it and some embellishments around the edge. When I finished dressing, I took a moment to sit on the side of my bed, breathing deeply in and out several times. I glanced over at the clock and was surprised to see that it was already 5:45 p.m. He would be here in 15 minutes, and again I was suddenly overwhelmed with a desperate need to see him, to be near him. What in the world was wrong with me? Geez, it was just a date! Just then I went to stand beside my window and happened to look down to see Carlisle's sleek black Mercedes coming down the street. I made my way downstairs and glanced in the living room to notice my dad reclined in his chair, asleep. I quietly went to the door and ushered Carlisle in, motioning at my sleeping father. I would let him sleep until Edward got here, because I knew he would be livid if he didn't get the chance to see me off on my date. Carlisle sat in his usual seat on the couch and began working on one of his puzzles while I went to pace in the kitchen, making sure all of Charlie's meds were in line for the evening. I had already done this task earlier in the day, but felt the need to do it again. The repetition was soothing to me in my slightly frazzled state, and I all but jumped out of my skin when Carlisle's voice said quietly, "Bella, I do believe my son will be stunned by your beauty tonight, if I may say so. You look wonderful." I hadn't heard a sound, if he had been a burglar, that would have been it for me. I had almost forgotten he was there in the living room for a brief moment. Now, granted, that statement might have sounded creepy coming from someone other than Carlisle, but his look told the whole story. He looked, well, hopeful I guess is the best word to describe it. An almost wistful expression crossed his face, and he turned to go back into the living room. I heard a car approach slowly and looked out the window to see the Aston Martin pulling into the driveway. I grabbed my purse from where it was hanging on the banister and went to the door to wait for him. He approached the door purposefully, and I opened it as he raised his hand to knock softly. He looked up at me and smiled that devastatingly beautiful crooked smile of his. I stepped back and to the side so that he could enter and wondered why he was keeping his left arm behind his back.

He showed me within seconds the answer to the question, as he withdrew his arm from behind his back. There in his hand was a small bouquet of a miniature fuchsia, white and light pink roses, all mixed skillfully once again with sprays of lavender accenting the palette. They were in a smaller arrangement than the ones now hanging up in the corner of my bedroom but I didn't care. He was the only guy to have ever given me flowers other than my dad. (That I knew of, the mystery behind the Angel Face roses was still unsolved) I gasped, and as he handed them to me, saying "Bella, you look stunning!" It registered in the back of my mind that there was a card in them, but I didn't stop to read it then. I was much too busy taking all of him in, piece by wondrous piece as it were. He was wearing dark wash jeans with fraying around the seams, and a chocolate brown sweater with a cowl neck and flecks of an amber color throughout the weave of the piece. The amber flecks matched his eyes of course, I noticed. He was wearing a pair of casual dark brown shoes and the ever present black leather cuff of course. I had never seen him without it, and today I noticed a silver oval on the top side of it with some sort of intricate design on it. In the brief amount of time it had taken me to take all this in, my body had flushed red hot at his statement and I began mumbling and finally managed to say out loud, "Not half as much so as yourself."Ugh! What was wrong with me, I couldn't even speak properly. Ok Bella, get a grip on yourself! This is a date, just a date, you will go and have a good time and then he will bring you home and that will be it. The pep talk that I gave myself was not the most original, but my biggest worry was that I would make a fool of myself in some way. Just try not to trip or fall into any holes or burn anything tonight, ok, I practically begged myself.

We walked into the living room, his hand on my elbow, with him standing very close to me, almost as if he were afraid I would either fall in my own living room or bolt. I was oddly comforted by his hand on my arm and body next to me. Although I hadn't considered bolting, it was not outside of the realm of possibility that I would fall, no matter how familiar the surroundings. Ugh, I wish I were graceful like Alice! Issue at hand Bella, keep your focus or you WILL trip! I told myself. I saw that my dad was still snoozing and so I walked over and gently tapped his shoulder, "Hey dad, we're getting ready to leave, ok?"

His eyes popped open and he looked kinda startled at first as he said, "Wha-? Oh, did I fall asleep? Are you leaving already? Wow Bells, you look beautiful!" I laughed slightly at the way he stumbled over the last part, as if it were a new thought to him. Then again, he had never seen me before a date, much less in such an expensive outfit before one, so I guess it was a new thing for him. "Thanks dad! Alice sort of put together the outfit I guess you could say." I looked at Carlisle and then Edward then, both of them trying to laugh at my expression obviously. Of course they knew what she had done, Edward probably knew what she did as soon as he saw her and she thought of it. I wasn't sure if there were ways that his family could prevent him from reading their every thought. I would have to ask how that worked later. Now, my father looked sternly at Edward and said, "Edward, you take care of my baby girl, I want her home by midnight! It's a school night, so both of you need to be in bed at a decent hour." He looked at Carlisle as he said this, as if making sure they were in agreement, and Carlisle nodded slightly in the affirmative. My dad looked relieved that he had back up on that and also that neither Edward or myself argued with him. Edward took the opportunity to reassure my father, and maybe score some brownie points as well, I wasn't sure. "Don't worry Chief Swan, we will be home before curfew, I promise. Actually we may be back a little earlier than that, since it is a school night." My dad gave him an odd look and then said, "Ok, well like I said, you take care of her!" Edward smiled just slightly, then put his hand over his heart and said "I promise!" I almost expected him to give the boy scout pledge sign and had to keep myself from giggling at the idea. We turned then, with both my father and his staring at us as we left the room. We quickly made our way out the front door, which he held open, and down the steps to the sidewalk. He actually walked around and opened my door for me, surprisingly. I had actually thought he'd done that before only because I was so traumatized the last time I had ridden with him. He was certainly old fashioned, which was rare these days for guys his age.

I settled into the luxurious seat of the DB9 again, fastening my seat belt, and wondering if he normally did really drive like Alice had. I was distracted from the thought at that moment by my cell phone notifying me that I had a text message and tapped it to read the message from Alice that said -You guys will have a great time, just relax! ; )P Oh, and P.S. I still say he's going to kiss you! lol- He was in his seat, buckling his seat belt and looked at me curiously when I laughed, asking me "What's so funny?" I just shook my head, saying "Nothing, well, actually to be honest, your sister was just telling me to relax." He snorted and said "Yes you really should, I want you to enjoy yourself tonight." He then grabbed his phone from the console and tapped out a short message, hit send, and was done within just a few seconds. I just glanced at him, not wanting to pry, but curious myself and he noticed. "I was just telling Alice to shut it and stop bugging us, but also thanking her for the shopping trip. You really do look amazing! That color is unbelievable on you. I know that she can be pushy and sneaky at times, but she means well. We just have to reign her in occasionally. Although I have to admit, I had seen you in this through her thoughts, but it could not have prepared me for the way it would look in front of my own eyes. It slipped before she could block me, she was trying to keep it a surprise." he said lastly, as if apologizing for his ability. He started the car without taking his eyes off me and my cheeks, which were positively crimson I was sure at this point. He reached out and brushed his finger along my cheek, barely touching me, but I felt like my skin had been lit on fire where he had ghosted acrossed it. I sucked in my breath slowly and was trying to make myself continue breathing, meanwhile I could have sworn he said something in some other language because I didn't recognize it, but it was said so softly that I couldn't have sworn exactly what I'd heard, if anything. He said nothing, he simply turned to look out the windshield and put the car in reverse and we were off.

Once I had regained my wits about me, I decided to ask him what he had meant earlier about his sister's thoughts. "Edward, when you were saying that you saw me through Alice's thoughts before she could block you, is all of your family able to block you, or just her?" He laughed quietly and answered, "All of them are pretty good at doing it actually, which is the best thing for me. It keeps me from seeing things I really would rather not in a lot of instances. I wasn't trying to ruin the surprise for you two, but she was so excited about it, her blocking slipped." I thought about his response for a moment, "What do you mean things you really would rather not see?" I was genuinely curious about this, the whole issue of their respective "powers" as I thought of them, really was a point of interest for me, but I would have to make sure I talked about other things so as not to put anyone off by focusing solely on that. He laughed loudly, and for what seemed like a long time before he was able to respond to this particular question. "Bella, imagine what happens in the minds of a bunch of teenagers who are constantly surrounded by their significant other, not to mention my parents. I try to keep away from those thoughts if at all possible, if I didn't I would have been insane long ago!" OHHH! Ok, how stupid was I that I hadn't thought of that? Especially with the way Emmett seemed to be so enamored with Rosalie at school, and Alice and Jasper were always within touching proximity it seemed. I began to wonder then, if Edward ever felt alone? They were all paired up with the exception of him. It had to be a point of contention, particularly if any of the couples were in that kind of mood. So, I wondered, what was stopping HIM of all people? He certainly could have any girl he wanted, so that wasn't the problem. Before I could stop myself, my mouth started moving and my censor chip failed to function. "Ok, I definitely understand how that could be an issue, but why not just find someone to be with yourself too? I mean, it's not like you couldn't have any girl at school, or probably outside of it for that matter. I can't think of one at Forks High that wouldn't die for that opportunity! Then again, I'm sure you know that through their thoughts, don't you?" I was rambling, badly, and I slapped my hand over my mouth to stop the flow of words and express my embarrassment. My cheeks showed it as well and I wanted to crawl underneath the car! What was I thinking? Now he was surely going to turn the car around and take me back home.

But he didn't, instead he slowed down slightly, and turned his head to look at me, looking slightly surprised but amused. "Well, to be honest, we haven't even been here a year, and I guess I have just never run into anyone that made me want to ask them out. Until you, that is." he looked pointedly at me. I felt the blush not creeping, but exploding all over my body, and I thought I was going to ignite given just the right spark. Unfortunately, the way he was looking at me with those molten amber eyes was threatening to be just that. I couldn't help saying "I'm SO sorry, it was none of my business to ask you that, please don't take it the wrong way." He barked a laugh and said "Bella, don't be silly, you don't have to apologize. And you don't have to worry about me taking it the wrong way. I know you didn't mean anything negative by it. There are plenty of people at school who think the same thing, it's just that none of them have the nerve to say it. I like that you said what you were thinking, it gives me insight into the way your mind works, even if I can't read it like most peoples." Oh, I guess I hadn't thought that his reaction would be as such, because I found myself surprised by it. I had honestly not considered that not being able to read my mind would be of any consequence to him, but apparently it was. I found myself with a niggling thought in the back of my mind that I could not prevent from growing until it forced itself out of my mouth, blowing right past the censor chip once again. "But that doesn't make sense to me, that's just it, why would it matter to you if you could or couldn't read my mind, why am I that important to you in that respect?"

I'm sure a look of sheer horror was plastered across my face, as I realized what I had just said. Was my brain broken today? Was I shortcircuiting or what? All of a sudden I didn't have the words to express what I was feeling. I was a manic jumble, twisted and gnarled like the roots of an ancient tree, confused, needy, wishful but cynical. I realized all of a sudden that I actually wanted him to want me, or even moreso I wanted him to NEED me. Me, only me, and nobody else for as long as I could think forward into my life. Whoa, that was a heavy thought, where the hell did that come from? I barely knew him, at least I felt like it. But I did know that he had helped me, shielded me, stood up for me, fought for me even, and that was before we even really knew each other. I somehow also knew that his family, for whatever reason, seemed willing to help and be there for me when I could turn nowhere else. His sister, at least one of them (I hadn't even really officially been introduced to Rosalie, so I didn't know about her) was willing and eager to spend time with me, and try to make things work out for Edward and myself on this date. I felt tears prick my eyelids, threatening to spill over and give away my angst. I could NOT cry, I would not! But I also realized that I couldn't allow myself to become hopeful that tonight was anything more than just an ordinary first date, awkward and tentative, between two teenagers. That was all it was, and ever would be, that was just the end of it. Thankfully, he seemed to be carefully thinking over his response to my question, and he didn't seem to notice the battle that was being fought within me, although I was almost sure I could hear my mind warring with my heart. Little did I know it, but one of them would eventually win, and it would change my life forever.

I was so lost in my own thoughts and the war within that it startled me when he spoke finally. "Bella, there are things about me that I have to tell you, and show you for them to be believed most likely. These things are not conventional in the least, but they are what my life is. But believe me when I say this, I will not mislead you about the way I feel about you, as long as I have control over my own fate I will not. You mean more to me now that you could ever fathom, and I know while it may be difficult for you to comprehend, that you have to understand that I could never let anything happen to you. Your mind is precious to me because it is what makes you Bella. It is your essence, and that has become more important to me than my own life. I don't know that I could ever begin to expect you to feel the same way about me, if that is even possible. However, I think if it were, it would only be possible for you, nobody else, ever. The day you ran into me at the hospital, my life was changed irrevocably. A seed was planted in my heart, and it has grown exponentially, it has twisted through my thoughts and desires and grown to such an extent that I don't know just what would happen to me if you were to reject me. Your want is my command, any need is my bidding, your happiness is the most important thing in the world to me and I would fight tooth and nail to keep you happy and safe until I had no fight left. I know this all sounds overly dramatic and unbelievable, so I won't expect you to say anything right now. Just know that I could not be more tied to you than if you were my only anchor in a typhoon. _Voi siete miei tutto. _You are my everything. And will be for as long as I live, unless you send me away."

I answered in a small voice, "Why would I send you away?" He looked sad at this moment, and I found myself wanting to touch his face and smooth away the worried wrinkles that sat on his forehead just then. He answered finally after a couple of minutes, "Because when you know about my life, you may not want to have anything to do with me. And while that would destroy me, I have to accept the fact that you have that right, you have the right to a life without me in it, without me impacting it." I took a moment to register what he was saying, then began refuting it, "I don't see how anything could make me not want you in my life, you have shown me nothing but kindness and strength since I have known you. What could possibly be so horrible that I would send you away from me, when I've just found you?" Indeed, what did he think could be so wretched that I would break my own self over it, because at this point that's what it felt like I would experience if that happened. I realized that I had spoken the complete truth of my heart. It had won. I had found him, and had no intention of letting him go if I had any other option. I felt the car slow to a stop and looked forward to see the front of a small restaurant as we parked. We were already in Port Angeles, and then it hit me. He had barely glanced at the highway while we drove there, he had been intently focused on me, the console when he couldn't look at me, and seemingly his hand, which I now saw was lying on the console between us. Had he intended to reach for my hand? I couldn't be sure at this point. He said, "We're here, please let's enjoy ourselves and not worry about what could or should or wont happen, ok? I want you to have fun." We got out, he handed the keys to the valet, who looked at him as if he had sprouted a third arm suddenly when he figured out what type of car key had just been handed to him. He clasped my hand in his and we walked into the restaurant and I found that instead of it feeling awkward and tentative, being beside Edward Cullen felt as natural to me as breathing, even if it was only for a little while.

I thoroughly enjoyed his company and the food, and although the service was timed perfectly to when we needed something, I had the inclination to believe that it was because our waitress was watching him obsessively. It was a wonderful little Italian place with an extensive menu, some of which was in Italian, and which Edward translated for me. I never would have imagined he could speak Italian! I had the shrimp and lobster stuffed ravioli in a garlic butter-white wine sauce with angel hair pasta and he had the manicotti stuffed with all sorts of wonderful smelling cheeses and meat, then covered in a sauce that was unbelievable. I actually knew this because he apparently saw me appreciating the aroma of it and offered me a bite. I followed suit with my ravioli, and he exclaimed how well the sauce complimented the lobster. I asked him many inane questions, like if he knew any other languages and what they were. He knew Italian, Spanish, Portugese, French, German, and Russian, and was apparently fluent in all of them. I filed this away for later to ask if he had actually said anything earlier in the car when I had wondered. He did admit however, that he had more of a base in Italian because Carlisle had spent quite a few years in Italy earlier in his life before he met Esme. He said that the family frequently tossed around different languages to keep in practice for when they traveled, which was apparently all the time. Carlisle and Esme had encouraged them each to have other interests as well. Edward, who knew the most languages other than Carlisle, taught the others foreign languages and was currently learning Scandinavian. He and Rosalie both played piano and Rosalie was the family's auto mechanic. Alice, in addition to her fashion designing and artwork of various types, dabbled in Interior Design along with Esme. They decorated all the homes they lived in themselves! Jasper was an authority on history and kept up the family's museum of sorts that they had collected over the years from visiting various places. Emmett was a sports enthusiast who had an uncanny knack for discovering new musical talent, he was actually a filter for a major record producer in Seattle. He received cd's of hopeful talent, and picked out the most promising talents and forwarded it to the producer. They all loved to play baseball as a family, each had two cars with the exception of Esme, who only drove whichever of Carlisle's was available, had a large family boat (which I could only imagine was more of a luxury yacht) and houses currently in 3 different countries, with 3 houses in different states of the US. In addition to all of this, both Carlisle and Edward enjoyed flying and each had their pilot's licenses for airplanes and helicopters, although when they traveled they primarily flew commercial jets. I had come to the conclusion during my time with him this evening that probably unbeknownst to most of the population of Forks, the Cullen family had more money than God, to pardon the expression. It probably wasn't too obvious though because no one ever really saw their home, and they only drove the less conspicuous cars to school and back every day. It was obvious that they tried hard not to be flagrant with their wealth, and they each had savings bonds and money invested, so that the money was not simply an immediate convenience type of thing for them. They had invested heavily into the stock market, which I assumed worked out better when you had a psychic in the family. We just generally had a good time, and enjoyed the food, which was followed tonight by a wonderful dessert called Pandoro with an unusual but delicious champagne-milk chocolate sauce poured over the top of it. It was almost like my Gran's lemon extract pound cake, but the sauce was what made it so different. It made me slightly nostalgic as I remembered baking them with her before the holidays when I would come to stay with my dad. We shared the dessert, as there was no way I would have been able to eat an entire one in addition to my meal, which I was even taking part of home with me. We had cappuccino with the Pandoro, so I was practically vibrating from the caffeine and sugar by the time we finally left the restaurant. The valet carefully pulled the car around and showed it the utmost respect as we picked it up and left.

It was only 8:15 p.m. when we left the restaurant, and it didn't really take that long to get home from Port Angeles. He asked me simply "Lake, ocean, or forest?" Unsure as to what there was to do at any of them, I said "Lake, I think, I haven't been to one in a while." So we headed back towards Forks on the 101, and I wasn't sure where he was headed until I saw the sign for Lake Pleasant eventually. We had traveled in comfortable silence except for the odd question here and there about the others music tastes, our favorite movies, books, and the like. His tastes leaned more towards the classics, particularly in music. We pulled into one of the public parking areas and went to a floating dock where we removed our shoes and rolled up our jeans before we sat down to dangle our feet into the warm water. It was high tide, so my legs were wet up to halfway between my ankles and knees, his were almost to his knees since his legs were longer. We sat there quietly for a few minutes, then he turned his body slightly towards mine and said "Bella, I need to tell you about my life, my family, because you knowing is not optional for me, but I have a dilemma. I'm afraid that if I tell you my secret, that you will think of me differently and will ask me to leave you alone. I am also afraid because by telling you I am actually putting you in danger if the wrong people found out. Now, if you guessed it yourself, it wouldn't be as much of an issue."

I thought about this and agreed that if it made it less dangerous for me to guess, that it would be the best course of action, but what could he possibly tell me that would help me guess without being too obvious? "Ok, I can try to guess, but what could you possibly say that would give me clues without actually saying it, because at this point I am clueless, I mean I know some of you have powers, but does that mean you're like, some sort of superhero mutants?" He shook his head somberly and laughed slightly, "No, not really, I'm not a hero type, more like the bad guy. Monster to be more exact." I thought about this for a moment, my heart picking up speed from the errant thoughts of the night he rescued me in Port Angeles. "I don't believe that, if that were true then you would have been one of the ones trying to attack me that night, instead of the one rescuing me. And that wasn't the only time that you've come to my aid. Most guys wouldn't have dropped everything to come over and help me prepare for Charlie's homecoming, especially at the last minute. Especially the monstrous ones." I smiled saying the last words. He actually smiled in return, that full blown crooked smile that made my heart trip into double time. He said "I was just doing what any decent person would have done. At any rate, I guess now we play 20 questions until you can guess…Wait, I just thought of something, you have friends who live on the Quileute reservation, don't you?"

I nodded, "Yeah, Charlie and Billy have been close friends for years, I grew up with his 2 daughters and son. Billy's wife died when Jacob was little. I was always closer to Jacob since we were closer in age and his sisters used to babysit us. Why do you ask that?" I wasn't sure where he was headed with this particular line of ideas. What did his family have to do with the Quileutes at LaPush? My mind then rewound quickly as if in response to a silent trigger from his. Jacob sitting in my bedroom, playing video games and talking about men who turned into wolves to protect their tribe from vampires who had attacked their people. My mind was flying in several different directions at once, the tribesmen stalking through the woods in their wolf forms, hunting the vampires, the chief of the tribe stopping his men from advancing on the ones who claimed to be different, a treaty between the coven and the tribe, no humans harmed. What parts of this were relevant? Obviously something was or my mind wouldn't be scrambling so frantically to grasp onto it. Suddenly, "Their eyes!" I practically jumped up as I said it. He stood up slowly, moving away from me slightly, gauging my reaction and preparing himself for my imminent meltdown. I scrambled the rest of the way to my feet on the floating decking, feeling it sway slightly in the water as it balanced itself with my movements. I finally found my voice again and said, "It was their eyes, the tribe chief knew they were different because of their eyes. The treaty, the coven, the tribe….they only drank the blood of animals. The tribe kept the secret so they could live amongst the humans as long as they abided by the treaty. You, but, it can't be, that was so long ago, your eyes, all of you! Which ones? Jacob never said what color the peaceful ones eyes were!" I backed up a step, another… Edward put his hands out in a gesture of peace and I took another step back. I started to take yet another to put space between us, and felt my footing fail as I stepped back too far, and began falling back. Well, hell! Suddenly I was being jerked back toward the beach on the decking, and I realized that my eyes were closed, apparently in my preparation for hitting the briny lake water.

I found myself gasping in a breath as I was moved, and found myself in Edward's arms. He stood me upright, then released me quickly and was away from me so fast that I couldn't register the movement properly with my eyes, especially in the dark. I blinked and looked for him, only to realize that he was all the way at the other end of the deck near where I had almost fallen off. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed, looking at me, "Bella, I…..I don't know what to say, I don't have an explanation other than the truth. I won't hurt you, I swear." I barked a laugh at him, "I know you won't hurt me, you would have already if that was your end game, not to mention the fact that the story makes no sense, so it couldn't possibly be the right one to explain what you need me to know. The coven Jacob talked about, that was when his grandfather was the tribal chief, and even if you were immortal, like vampires are supposed to be, there's no way that you could be in someplace for this long without people noticing. I mean, sure you go on vacation, but that isn't the same. Something else is going on here and I will figure it out." Edward sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "Bella, why do you think we own houses all over the US and in other countries? Not to mention the ones that we have bought and sold. We stayed here for about 5 years when Ephraim was chief, then we moved away to New York. We never stay together as a group in one place for more than a few years, sometimes we do go to universities and are able to stay a little longer, or Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie travel for a few months at a time and I study at home while Carlisle gets to work at one hospital for longer than usual. Thankfully, we have enough money that we can just live wherever for a year or two without anyone working or doing anything registered except for Carlisle. He can't stand to not be in a hospital somewhere, even if it's a hundred miles from our home at the time. Going off the grid every once in a while helps us to remain inconspicuous. We just came back to Forks when I told you we had, although we did own the land the house is on here. Esme had it built a couple of years ago in preparation for us to come back. We really do prefer it here if we are in the states, because there are many more cloudy days here. The land has remained in the Cullen name since Ephraim and Carlisle signed the treaty. The Quileute elders have known our secret all this time, but have kept it faithfully. I guess since Jacob is Ephraim's grandson it would make sense that he would have heard the legend, but I'm surprised he told you the story. It is actually a breach of the contract for him to tell someone about it, so I must assume he doesn't think there is any truth to it. Otherwise he would know better than to mention it." I thought about all this for a moment, and began slowly, trying to force my brain to comprehend the depth of what I was learning, how far back this actually ran. "Well, ok, first of all, Jacob didn't believe it, at least not as far as I could tell, and I can tell you that if he did, he would NOT have told me and risked breaching the Treaty. He has mentioned a treaty line before, but I wasn't ever sure what that was all about and I don't think he was either. His dad is one of the tribe elders now, but Jake doesn't get to go to the meetings until he is of age. Secondly, why does it matter how many cloudy days there are anyhow, that's what I don't get, you aren't supposed to be able to be out in the daylight. Lastly, if all of you drink animal blood instead of human, why are your eyes a different color, and what color would it be if you did, if you were like the ones that attacked the tribe to begin with?"

He began, "Well, if we drink human blood our eyes turn crimson red, like fresh blood, when we are well fed, it saturates the irises of our eyes. Ours turn golden because the animal blood is not as potent, that and the protein strands are so different from human to animal. We aren't at our optimum strength on animal blood, but still much stronger than any human could ever be. When we haven't fed in a while, our eyes turn black, all of us. The cloudy days matter because we can be out in daylight, in full sun even, but our skin reacts strangely to say the least under sunlight. That's why we aren't in school on sunny days, I will show you the next sunny day there is, if you want me to that is. We are not the creatures of the night painted by authors and Hollywood. We all think of Bram Stoker's Dracula as a comedy, because the legend it portrays is laughable although some of it is based in truth. But make no mistake about it, Bella, I am a monster. There is no other way to put it. My heart no longer beats, it stopped long ago. I drink the blood of animals, I can eat human food, but it won't stay down because my organs are frozen and cannot process it. I can shed no tears, I can not sleep or dream, I am like living stone. Our skin is only penetrable by a very few things, namely vampiric force, a vampire's teeth, or the teeth of one of the wolves Jacob spoke of. In order to destroy one of us, we must be ripped apart, decapitated and burned to ash. I don't even require oxygen, the venom and animal blood running through my veins can sustain me for days, weeks even without breathing, sleeping, or feeding. I can stand stone still for days at a time, if I choose, because I do not tire. I have to guard my every movement around you, because I could crush your body if I hugged you too hard, literally! The thought of that terrifies me, it truly does."

I contemplated what he had said for a moment, could it really have been so easy for me to guess this? Why had it not occurred to me before to connect the legend with his families strange similarities? I guess I was simply too unassuming, like most other humans, which they counted on for survival of course. I looked at him, studied his features closely, and other than his unearthly beauty, I couldn't see many differences from the form of any other human. I did, however, recall the feeling of running into him at the hospital, he was like a brick wall, his body rock hard, as was Alice's when she hugged me, and Esme's too. I knew all vampires were supposed to be unbelievably beautiful and they all fit that perfectly. Now I guess my main question was the most basic in terms of myself. "Ok, then why me? Why would you choose a human that you can't even hug, when there are others like you out there?" I think my question must have startled him because he jerked his head up, looking at me and then running his hands through his hair, tousling it further. He sighed and began walking towards me slowly, hands out, and I stepped forward, closing the distance quicker than he was willing to. He reached down and grabbed my hands, bringing them together and up to his chest, enclosed in his. "Bella, many of us spend many years alone, Carlisle was actually alone for centuries before he changed me and I became his son for all intents and purposes. Then he found Esme and she became his wife for eternity, he found her as a human who had been abused and she jumped off a cliff, she was barely alive, but he knew, it happened and he was changed irrevocably. He changed her to save her, like he had with me, Carlisle has never changed anyone who wasn't dying and he has never drank from a human in his existence. I however, cannot say the same thing. I spent about three years playing dark angel. I took it upon myself to rid society of the evil humans, rapists, murderers, abusers, if their thoughts indicated that they had or would do it, I rid the earth of them forever. I am a monster, I took lives as if I had the right to. But I realized eventually that there were always more waiting, I couldn't rid the cities of them all. So I went back to Carlisle and he forgave me of course, much more easily than I have forgiven myself. But after over a century of being alone, I found you, Mia Cantante, my singer as I knew you first of all. But then to learn that you were Il Mio Spirito ha Promesso, my spirit's promised! You became the center of my universe, your happiness is paramount to any need or want I could ever have. That is how Carlisle found Esme, Rosalie found Emmett, and Alice found Jasper, but for me, I found both in one! It has never been heard of in our histories, or at least as far as we can find it documented or told. Although Esme and Emmett were spirit's promised, neither were Carlisle or Rosalie's singers."

"What do you mean, I am your "Singer"? What does that mean, is that something like a soulmate?" He smiled slightly, and turned serious, slowly lowering my hands, placing them back at my sides where they tingled from the contact and then loss thereof. He said "A singer is the one human whose blood calls to a specific vampire moreso than any other humans ever has or ever will. Your scent, the aroma of your blood, any smell that makes you Bella, it calls to me in ways I cannot express. If I were to drink from you, your blood would be like my own brand of heroin, a drug that was made specifically for me, and it would be an ecstasy I have never known. But you are also my spirit's promised, and that means that if you were to cease to exist, I might as well cease to exist myself. So, singer or not, your blood will remain untouched. You are the one that was promised to my spirit at its creation, I can only hope that you may someday think of me as yours. I know of no greater honor I could be given than to be your spirit's promised. I had already decided that I would just have to either leave or simply learn to resist your blood, now there is no choice, except yours. Now I will warn you, these things affect people in different ways, meaning that you may gradually feel that you need to be around me, or if I am your spirit's promised as well, this may all come crashing in at once now, so you need to be prepared. It is intense, if my experience has shown me anything, it's that much. I just don't want you to feel frightened to come to me and talk to me about it, or Alice or Carlisle either. They know all about this, although it happened to us after we were changed. It makes it easier to deal with because our minds can process so much more information at one time than a normal human's."

His explanation created many questions for me, but also answered many. Since the night that he had rescued me, I felt myself being inexplicably drawn to him, like the most important thing in my life was tied around him. I guess in a way it was, but HE was the important thing, not what it was wrapped around. It also explained why I felt no fear at all towards him, I also wanted to be in physical contact with him as much as possible. Even though I was standing right next to him, I wanted more contact, in fact, I ached for it. My chest felt like a hole had been punched through it and it was now just a gaping wound that would only be filled by his touch. I reached out and took his hand in both of mine, and brought it up to brush alongside my cheek with it, and held it to the side of my face. I suddenly felt whole again. This was the damndest thing I had ever experienced. What was I going to do when he left me to go home? How was I going to sleep at night? I suddenly felt very overwhelmed and like I was going to come unraveled from the weight of all of this. I started shaking and before I knew it, I felt him brush a tear away from my cheek. "How am I supposed to be away from you now? This is not normal in any respect, and I don't even know how I'm going to cope at school being away from you for a few hours!" He leaned over and kissed away the tears streaming down my face. Cupping my cheeks in his hands, he whispered "Il Mio Spirito ha Promesso, It will get easier, day by day, as our love grows, it will stretch to fill the distance between us when we cannot be together, I promise. In the meantime, we will find ways to spend time together as much as possible, if you want." He then leaned down again and kissed the tip of my nose, then each of my eyelids, then he softly placed a kiss on my lips, gently moving them against mine until I reached up, winding my arms around the back of his neck, twisting my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to my face. He gently reached up, grabbing my wrists and pulling my hands down to rest on his chest once more with them covered by his hands. We stood forehead to forehead for a minute, and then he said "We should head back towards your house, its getting close to 11p.m. and I don't want to give your dad any reason to dislike me.

We grabbed our shoes, put them back on, and headed towards the car. We rode the rest of the way there mostly in silence, each reflecting on the evening's events. The closer we got to my house, the more nervous I became. How was I going to sleep tonight, with all of these things fighting for space in my head? Not to mention the fact that when I wasn't touching Edward in some small way at least, the gaping hole in my chest returned. I still couldn't understand how I had felt normal just earlier today, but now felt completely and irrevocably bound to him? Was this what people meant by infatuation? Surely this was more than that, wasn't it? I needed someone to tell me that I wasn't losing my mind, and quickly! Wait, Alice! He said I could talk to Alice about this, that she would understand, at least somewhat. I would call her as soon as he left tonight, it was obvious to me that I wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight anyhow. He had also said that they didn't require sleep, so she would be awake. I realized that my hand was sweating as I was clenching his so tightly on the console between us. I pulled it back for a moment, wiped it on my jeans, and quickly returned it to his. How embarassing! But, had someone asked me if I really cared at that moment, the answer would have been a resounding NO!

My heart tripped into double-time when we pulled up in front of my house, and I looked at Edward, wondering if he could sense it? He seemed to be attuned to me physically more now, so I decided to ask. "Edward, you said you could smell the scent of my blood, that my smell was like a drug? What else can you tell about my body?" He ducked his head as if embarassed, and said "Well, I can hear your heart tripping along now, and I can feel the pulse of your blood in your veins through the skin on your wrists. I can smell the tiniest bit of sweat lingering on your jeans from where you wiped your palm earlier. My senses are pretty much all magnified hundreds of times in comparison with a humans. I can smell the layers of your natural scent, body wash, shampoo, spray, perfume, deodorant, toothpaste, along with another scent that I can't entirely place. Were you afraid that I would be put off by your scent if you didn't use those things?" I nodded, slightly embarassed. He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand and the familiar burn lit across my skin, "Bella, I really would like for you to do without it one day if I could ask that of you? I would like to learn your true scent, just what Bella smells like when she's just out of the shower, no sprays or perfumes, ok? Is it ok with you that I ask for this so that I can memorize it? It will only take once if you prefer to go back to the other stuff." I ducked my head this time, and said "I don't normally wear some of that stuff usually anyhow, I just thought I would wear something special since we were going out." By the time I got to the end of my statement, I was mumbling, but I knew he heard me. I would refrain from wearing all of that stuff if it bothered him, which if he had super amplified senses, it might have been very overwhelming. I would have to be more considerate of that now that I was aware. At this point he spoke again, and I swear sometimes he COULD read my mind. "Don't think that you smell offensively or anything, you smell wonderful, I just want to know what the true perfume of Bella is for my own personal reference."

We sat there, me with his hand held against my cheek for a moment longer, lingering because we could, it was actually still only 11:25p.m. We sat there talking for a little while about things like school assignments, and yet again books and music. I guess now I could understand why he leaned toward more classical choices, which led me to my next question. "So, how old are you, actually? You look about 17 or 18, but how long have you looked that age in reality? Will you ever age?" He shook his head no, saying "No, I will never age any more than I already have. I was 17 years old when Carlisle changed me, and that was in 1901. I am 126 years old, or will be in a few days. We all celebrate the day that we emerged from our change as our birthday, for the most part. It's mostly because when we change, all of our human memories get fuzzy very fast and sometimes it is hard to remember. Not to mention that we are essentially born again when we emerge from it. The whole world becomes a very different place, and our kind are considered to be newborn vampires for at least the first year following the change. The bloodlust we experience causes us to act much younger, the thirst is so strong, it's very difficult to reason with." He looked at the clock and it was 11:45 p.m. It was time to go in, particularly if we wanted to make a good impression on my dad. He got out of the car and within a second he was around it, opening the door for me, wrapping his arm around my waist as we walked toward and up to the house and entered the door with my key. My dad was asleep in his recliner and Carlisle was sitting on the couch, working on his puzzle book. He looked up at us and smiled, looking somewhat questioningly at Edward with one eyebrow slightly raised. Was he asking him a question in his mind? I noticed Edward nod almost imperceptibly and sniff, this time questioning Carlisle with his eyes.

Carlisle spoke finally and said "Alice came by to check on Charlie and myself a couple of hours ago, she said to tell you she hoped you had a wonderful time and that she hoped you wouldn't mind that she arranged the flowers that Edward had brought for you. They are in your room on your desk. Charlie has been asleep for about an hour Bella, I tried to convince him to go to bed, but he insisted on waiting up for you of course." I nodded, looking at my dad, "That's fine of course, regarding the flowers, I plan on calling her shortly anyhow. I will thank her then. And again, I cannot thank you enough for doing this Carlisle." He had stood and gathered up his book and pen while I was speaking and he came over to stand near Edward and myself. "Nonsense Bella, you and Edward needed to go out and I think you in particular needed an evening out to dinner and such. I just hope that you found it enlightening and more of a good break than a bad one." I knew he was alluding to the deeply consequential conversations that Edward and I had that evening, and I nodded my head affirmatively and reached out for Edward's hand as I did so. He clasped mine and brought it up to his lips, kissing it softly. I looked into his eyes and gave him a tentative smile, trying to hide my sudden fear at the thoughts that attacked me of lying alone, the gaping wound growing by the hour until I saw him again. "Well, it looks like I better get Charlie up to bed so that he can be comfortable. I guess I will see you in the morning at school?" Edward nodded, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on my forehead, then each of my cheeks. "Goodnight Bella, see you tomorrow" he said.

Carlisle and he bid me goodnight again, and then they were gone, with the car's engines growling off into the distance. I woke Charlie up, got him upstairs and situated, then locked everything up. I headed to my room and the bathroom, getting ready for bed in record time, finding myself standing in my room, staring at the flowers arranged in a large crystal vase that I couldn't remember seeing before. Oh well, I picked up the card in the flowers and opened it slowly to see if he had written anything in it. I simply saw the words:

For Bella

I realized immediately that he had sent the other roses, and I added that to the list of things that I needed to thank him for. I sighed, tonight was going to be a long, sleepless night!

~*Ok, everyone, sorry this one took me a little longer, but I have struggled to get it just like I wanted it for several days. I would definitely appreciate some reviews and opinions on a couple of things. What do you guys think about maybe a little of Edwards point of view from this chapter's happenings for the next chapter, or at least a synopsis of his part in this story so far at least from his POV? Also, please pardon me if the phrases in Italian are not correct, I had to translate them online myself, so bear with me, there will be more to come! Thanks so much for reading! Enjoy!*~


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer****:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Chapter 9**

**E.P.O.V.**

What the hell what I going to do about Bella? I couldn't spend every minute with her, but I knew that inevitably I was going to feel the pull to do so. Even if it was just for a period of adjustment, that was going to be hard to manage between school and her need to take care of her father. I looked into her bedroom window from my perch here in the tree at the woodline near the house, I was just at eye level with the window, and my vision made this the perfect vantage point from which to keep an eye on things. I had taken to sitting here not long after she barreled into me at the hospital that day, and had spent each night since then on sentry duty of sorts. I had been very tempted to sneak in to watch her sleep a time or two, but felt this would be an even bigger betrayal of her privacy. Oh how I wished sometimes that I could tell her I was out here, have her ask me to come in and keep her company, to lie there and hold her until she fell asleep and listen to her mumbled sleep talk all night. She was quite verbal in her sleep, and I could understand the majority of it, even from here due to my amplified hearing. I had nearly fallen out of the damn tree the first time I heard her say "Edward" followed by a breathy sigh, as though I had taken her breath away with a kiss. I could only wish and hope that was the reason for her nightly mumblings. There were so many things that I could only wish and hope for when it came to her. I could not read her thoughts to know how she felt about me, which frustrated me to no end. I could only do my best to make her as happy as possible and hope it was enough.

I was becoming slightly more optimistic in regards to how she felt about me after tonight. She had seemed to calm down quickly and take in stride the news that I was a vampire, although her initial reaction of almost falling off the deck would have nearly given me a heart attack, if that were possible for one of us. But she showed no fear of me personally, which I wasn't quite sure how I felt about. I almost wish she did fear me the tiniest bit, instead of grabbing the back of my head and making it a more passionate kiss than I had intended it to be. I wanted it to be perfect, an expression of the care that I would treat her with, like a delicate bloom. My thoughts ran back across the past couple of weeks and I couldn't help but think again how radically different my world was now than it had been just that short a time ago. I had discovered she was Mia Cantante that day in the hospital, My Singer, the one human whose blood would be like the most powerfully brewed dose of ecstasy in creation to me. I had planted my feet firmly, tried not to breathe for fear I would further enflame my scorching throat, or go after her, for that matter. That was how strongly her sweet blood had called to me. I had heard of this before, read about it in our histories, but had never known any other vampire that it had happened to. Supposedly it was something that only happened once for a vampire, and then never again, no matter how many centuries passed for them. If I had not been practicing control over my craving for human blood for so many years, I doubt the encounter would have ended well at all, for either of us. As it was, I stood there, making basic conversation with her, trying to ignore it when she would blush and her cheeks would go florid with her emotion. Suddenly something seemed to start unraveling in my head, and I swear I almost got dizzy as I told her that I hoped her father got well soon. I looked at her again, hearing her say that she hoped her fathers recovery would allow her to go back home to Florida to finish high school, and suddenly, I had wanted her to stay. It was like everything got turned upside down, then turned back to rights again, but this time it wasn't my world revolving around the things I had held dear for many decades. It was my world revolving around her. A slight glow, a warmth I had never experienced before, seemed to crawl in the sides of my vision and wrap itself around her. She was emanating the glow now, it was seeping from her very pores, and forming an aura around her that I had never seen on anyone before. What was wrong with me? Was I hallucinating? First I felt dizzy, now this? She was talking about the overcast sky here, and I commented that she made some of the girls around here look tanned. That was when the spark lit in her eyes, eyes the color of warm melted milk chocolate. The color was striking against such porcelain fine skin as hers, and even more so combined with her chestnut colored hair, currently pulled back in a messy knot on top of her head. Her nostrils flared a tiny bit and I realized I had offended her. I gave her a small, apologetic smile to let her know I had been joking with her and she seemed to once again relax a small bit. Her posture was still defensive as we talked about my dad for a moment, and then I looked at my watch, realizing I was supposed to meet him shortly. I excused myself and bid her goodbye, giving her a smile and trying to keep myself from racing away from her to sort out my thoughts in my father's office. But I stopped and had to comment when she said she was just "plain old Bella". Of course she blushed again and I really did have to fight to keep from running at superhuman speed out of the hallway where her scent surrounded me.

I had begun sitting in this tree that very night, observing her movements and watching her sleep. I had watched as she and her mother had painted her room with accents of lavender and seen the comforter set that had already been on the bed in shades of purple, so I assumed it was safe to say it was a favorite color of hers. I had made a point of asking Esme the name of the lavender roses in her garden, so that I could send her some in an arrangement. Esme responded that they were called Angel Face, and I couldn't help but think how appropriate that sounded. So Esme and Alice had created an arrangement that I had paid a young local boy to deliver to the house. I assume that she had figured out I was the sender when the cards in the earlier arrangement matched the one that I had given her tonight. Suddenly my phone beeped and I tapped the screen to see a text from Alice -She is going to call me to talk, get far enough away so that she can talk privately please! She needs to work through the way this thing works in her head and needs help from a girl. I will let you know when we are done!- At this I jumped out of the tree, landing lightly on my feet, and proceeded to walk until I could no longer hear her father's snores. This was my marker indicating I was out of her range, since Charlie snored pretty loud and she normally didn't talk that loudly.

I wandered around aimlessly in the woods, waiting for my sister's text to let me know that it was ok to return. So I let my mind wander back over our encounters, the hallway, the incident with her would-be attackers in Port Angeles, helping her prepare for her father's homecoming, and our date tonight. I still found my hands balled into fists, my entire being shaking with anger at the thought of the Port Angeles run-in. I quickly calmed myself, I had been exhibiting a tendency to overreact when it came to Bella. My family was never going to let me live down the night last week, the day I had asked her out, when I had been pacing and actually ran right into the door facing of the living room at home. The truth was I had closed my eyes to remember how she had looked when I had stared into her eyes and asked her out. I had been searching for clues as to how the question had made her feel. One of the good things about having a perfect photographic memory was that I could replay something in my head, often catching things that I may not have noticed before. I could look for clues later if need be due to this. On the other hand, given my mind reading ability, it also meant that other people's mental images were forever stored in my brain as well. That is why the thought of the thugs in Port Angeles brought me to such a boiling point of rage. I could and would sometimes unconsciously file through these images, violent flashes from their planned brutality towards her. These things made me want to hunt them each down and punish them in the most violent of ways. I shook my head to rid myself of these thoughts. I had to stop dwelling on them, she was safe, and I hoped she was mine, for at least as long as her life would allow it.

I had made the decision that she would not suffer as I had. She would not burn alive for three days, only to become a monster such as myself. I simply would not allow it to even become an option. She had not asked about it, so I was hoping fervently that it wasn't even something she had considered. It was true that Jasper and Alice, Esme and Carlisle, and Emmett and Rosalie were all spirit's promised to each other, however, none were changed for that reason. Alice had actually had visions of Jasper when she was a human still and their ties began there, but they did not meet until a couple of years after she was changed. Once they met, their bond was sealed and Alice's insistence that they find our family and join us finally wore him down and he agreed to try our rather unorthodox lifestyle. He still struggled with our all animal blood diet and was wary of himself around humans, but he often thought that he was finally where he belonged. Carlisle decided to change Esme when she was brought to the hospital he was working at after attempting suicide following the death of her newborn son. Apparently her husband had been very abusive and the trauma caused before his birth allowed him only hours to live before succumbing. Carlisle felt inexplicably drawn to her, and discovered after her change that she was his spirit's promised. The situation was much the same for Rosalie and Emmett, she found him in the woods, nearly dead after having been mauled by a bear. She was drawn to him immediately and begged Carlisle to change him. After his change, they were quickly inseparable, and only in the past twenty-five years or so had they begun to spend time apart for Rose to go shopping with Alice, or Emmett to go out with Jasper and myself to shoot pool or just blow off steam somehow. I had always been the odd man out, but it looked as though my time was coming. I guess it would just be in a little more unorthodox manner than the rest of the family.

My family was thrilled to see me finally take an interest in a female, or maybe it was just that it was something other than music, books, or languages, I'm not certain which. I was fairly certain it was a combination thereof though, and I didn't mind. I did have the tendency to be moody and sullen at times, particularly when it seemed the entire rest of my family were holed up in their bedrooms. I did not, however, for one minute mistake Rose's recent snarkiness toward me as part of her natural demeanor. While she was currently and had always been a bit difficult to get along with, she obviously did NOT like the idea that I was becoming so bound to a human and she was making it known. I did manage to get her to fix Bella's truck for me because of her love for an automotive challenge and the fact that only Carlisle, Esme, and Alice knew much at that particular point, and Jasper had only known that my emotions were all over the place. But now, well, it was pretty much obvious that I was completely and totally in love with Bella Swan and that she was not only my singer, but my spirit's promised. There was nothing to be done, except hope that she could accept it and could learn to love me as well. I could not hope that I would be her spirit's promised, it would be too much to ask for a damned soul such as mine to be tied to a beautiful, human one such as hers. I would not forfeit hers for my own selfishness, yet had I known a way to keep her forever without damning her eternally, I would. I wished that there were some way to return my immortality, to go back to being human, I would have done so in an instant, if it meant I could spend the rest of those days with her. As it was, the day that her heart stopped beating, so would my life as I knew it come to an end.

I had never considered that this might ever happen to me, so I had never considered all the variables and consequences. I felt so ill prepared for all of it, but was trying to take it in stride. Tonight I had been stunned by her beauty, then again by her strength. She hadn't turn and run screaming away from me, terrified, as I thought she would. Was she truly not frightened of me? Most humans were curious about us and drawn to us, but when face to face, they often would back away as their natural instincts told them that there was something different about us. All I could think to do was beg her not to leave me at any given moment, until I knew how she felt about me and the situation. I had actually asked her to stay with me, when we had gotten into the car to leave for our date, I couldn't help but brush my fingertip along her porcelain skin and whisper to her. "Mia Cantante, Mia Esistenza, Si prega soggiorno." I had said, "My Singer, My Existence, please stay." But I doubt she heard me, and even if she did there was little chance she spoke Italian. I enjoyed my knowledge of languages, and also the fact that I could teach my siblings such wonderful things, so I assumed I would also enjoy teaching my Bella any languages she wanted to know as well. I hoped that if she would stay with me, she could travel with my family at some point and I could introduce her to the wonders of the world and its languages.

I found myself glancing at the clock every two minutes or so until finally, at 2:05 a.m., my sister text messaged me back to let me know that they were done talking. Alice must have worn her out finally I thought as I tapped the screen of my phone and started walking back towards her house to watch her sleep. Until I saw Alice's message, that was the plan. However things changed when I read the text. -Go to her bedroom window and text her that you are there, quickly, she needs to see you. Charlie will remain asleep until 6:38 a.m., unless something changes, I will let you know if it does. Good Luck!- To say I was confused was an understatement, what had gone on, was something wrong? I had to assume that nothing bad had happened the way Alice had put it, but why would she need to see me? Had she made a decision already as to what her stance would be towards me and our predicament? I nervously made my way through the trees until I could once again see the light from her bedroom window. Getting up to the window would be no problem, I just wasn't sure that she would want me to take that way up. I stood below her window and text messaged her phone, -I am outside, are you ok? Come to the window please.- I waited for her phone to receive the message and heard it as a child-like voice screamed "Woohoo! Somebody done sent me a text message!" I had to laugh at the message ringtone, leave it to Bella to pick that. I hoped the noise didn't wake her father, but I sensed no movement or stirrings even from his room. I looked at her window again to see the light shifting and dancing as she moved towards it, finally lifting the sash and peering out into the dark night trying to see me. Once she caught sight of me, I nodded my head for her to move out of the way of the window, and quickly but silently scaled the side of the house and slid in through the window, landing as quietly as possible. She stared back and forth between the window and myself several times, then shook her head slightly and gave me a tentative smile. "I could have went down and let you in the door, you know" she said. "I know, but this was quicker, besides, I wouldn't want to risk doing anything that might wake your father" I replied.

I could hear the soft, steady beating of her heart and the small noises she made breathing, waiting for her to speak first about her need to see me. Surprisingly, she looked wide awake, although under her eyes the telltale smudges were starting to give away the secret that she was being deprived of sleep. I hated the thought that I was the cause for her unrest, and wondered if there was anything I could do that would help her sleep better. She walked over and sat down on the edge of her bed, watching me the whole time. She seemed to be trying to read me, to figure out my state of mind as well as her own, and it seemed to me that we were both nervous and conflicted and didn't know what to think. I didn't want to push her, she didn't know how to express her feelings to me, and we were both scared of what was happening to us. I was more afraid of her rejection than anything, and I wasn't quite sure what her primary fear was. "Well," she said "I don't really know what to think right now, although I do feel better since talking to Alice. I know that you told me I could come to you to talk, but I just needed to have a girl talk about all this. I'm sorry." I shook my head at her, saying "Bella, you don't have to explain what you felt like doing, I'm just glad you felt that you could talk to her about it. I'm not certain that I could have given you an accurate and unbiased take on things." I smiled a little and noticed the small smile that crept its way onto her face as I did so. She replied, "Well, I'm not certain that I got a completely unbiased take on the situation from Alice either. Your sister has a very biased opinion of her dear brother!" She laughed softly, trying to be quiet in the attempt. I smiled, yes, Alice was definitely biased when it came to me. Perhaps it was because of our abilities, I wasn't exactly sure, but I was closer to her than any of my other siblings, including Emmett and Jasper. We fought and bet against each other and trash talked as much as any other brothers of typical teen age, but I was emotionally close to Alice.

I waited for her to speak, afraid that she might be stalling to put off hurting my feelings. She sat there for a couple of minutes, seeming to blush the entire time, while waves of pounding heart beats would interrupt her normal steady rhythm every so often. I could tell that she was very nervous and that made me in turn very nervous. Finally, she removed her hand from the knee closest to me and placed it on top of my hand, clasping it. She finally spoke again, saying "To be honest, I still am a bit thrown by all of this to say the least, but I don't want to let time go by that I could be spending with you be wasted. I have no clue as to how I would be able to sleep at night if you aren't here, and since you don't sleep anyhow, I was wondering if you would stay with me? You could read or whatever else you want, that's fine with me, but I don't think I could stand to fall asleep without you beside me now. When you aren't here, I feel as though someone has punched a hole through my chest and the wound is raw. Being near you fills it and makes it so much better, I just can't even explain it properly." I thought about this for a moment, wondering if she had somehow plucked the idea from inside my head where it had been torturing me for the last week. I would imagine holding her for hours each night, feeling her breathe in my arms, listening to her soft heart beat and her sleeping murmurs, breathing in the scent of her. Then it occurred to me what she had really said, "When you aren't here, I feel as though someone has punched a hole through my chest and the wound is raw." That was exactly how I felt when I wasn't with her now. Could it be possible that I was her spirit's promised as well? I could barely contain myself at the thought and I felt a huge smile breaking my face nearly in two it seemed. If my still heart could beat, it would have been triple time slamming into my chest walls right then.

I couldn't believe what I had just heard, and I looked at her with a dumbstruck expression. "You want me to stay with you? Bella, what you just said, does that mean you…..?" She noticed the shift in my expression and smiled shyly up at me. "Yes, I think I am starting to understand the feeling of finding your spirit's promised. I actually think it started the day you asked me out, but it has been building gradually and today, it just hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. I still don't know what to make of it all, but I am just going to take it one day at a time, and hopefully will be able to integrate all of this. Now, back to my earlier question, will you stay with me tonight? Now that you are here, I feel as though I could fall asleep just sitting here by your side." I looked at her face again in this instant and she suddenly looked bone-weary, with dark purple smudges underneath her beautiful eyes. I cursed myself for not noticing just how bad it was before this moment and insisting that she lie down, but then I noticed that she was reaching up towards my face, with a gentle smile that made her look much less weary. She smoothed her fingertips across my forehead, and I realized that I had been scowling in my beration of myself. "Don't scowl like that, you'll wrinkle prematurely!" she giggled softly. I thought about her statement and just barely caught myself before I barked in laughter at her suggestion. No, she would never have to worry about that in my case.

Standing up, I reached for her hand, pulling her up alongside me while reaching out with my other hand to pull back the covers on her bed. I gently scooped her up in my arms and placed her on the bed, then flashed around the end of it and lie down beside her after removing my shoes. I snuggled up to her closely and pulled the covers over us, finding myself almost dizzy by the impact of being so surrounded in her scent. I leaned over, wrapping her in my arms and placed my chin on top of her head, taking in a deep breath and inhaling pure Bella. It occurred to me that had the circumstances been any different, my throat would have been burning with a fury that would leave me in agony, of this I had no doubt. As things were, however, there was little discomfort present to remind me of the monster locked away inside, the one that rattled his chains furiously at me that first day that I saw her and caught her blood's scent. She snuggled into me and turned her body slightly towards mine, lifting her chin to gaze up at me, asking "Can I have a kiss?" She then looked at me for a moment as I warred with myself internally about whether I should or not, all the while gnawing on her full bottom lip. On the one hand I knew I shouldn't risk hurting her, she had already shown herself to be a passionate kisser earlier in the evening and I was afraid that I would not be able to prevent myself from literally crushing her against me in the heat of the moment. However, judging by her expression and the small lines that formed over her brows, if I refused her this, she would be hurt immensely, and for that I could not stand. I reached down, allowing my finger to graze along her skin ever so slightly, lifting her chin as I lowered my own head further, brushing my lips across hers gently and feeling her begin to strain against me to deepen the kiss. I moved my hands up, cupping her perfect porcelain face in them and pulling my head back enough to whisper against her lips. "Bella, love, we must be careful. I cannot risk putting you in harm's way for a kiss, no matter how badly I want to show you the depth of my feelings for you. I could, to put it quite bluntly, crush you in my embrace if I am not constantly vigilant! I simply could not bear to hurt you!"

She seemed to take a moment to digest this information and looked at me, gnawing on her bottom lip again. Oh, what it did to me to see that simple act. On one hand, it brought about thoughts of a most sensual nature, but on the other, it showed her insecurity and the fact that nobody had ever shown her how truly special she is. If I had to move heaven and earth by some means, I would show her just how incredible she is. I decided this with a certainty that grew with each second I looked into her eyes, those limpid pools the color of warm milk chocolate. I once again cradled her face in my hands and leaned forward slightly, kissing her thoroughly, but with as much care as I could hold onto. Under no circumstances could I allow any harm to come to her while I could do anything about it. I understood that I could not protect her every minute of day, but if something were to happen to her, I already knew what my course of action would be. I hoped that she got to live a long and peaceful life, or at least as peaceful as it could be when my family is involved. She slowly opened her eyes, her dark lashes brushing her cheeks as she smiled shyly, biting on her bottom lip yet again. Had it not been for the telltale smudges beneath her eyes, I might have been perfectly happy simply to lie there and kiss her repeatedly, whispering words of adoration into her ear. But as it was, she needed sleep, and it was already very late.

I whispered to her, "Sleep now, love, we have school tomorrow and I dare say it will be a challenging day for us both, not seeing each other as frequently." She thought about this for a moment and nodded her head. "You have a point, I have all ideas tomorrow is going to be difficult enough without falling asleep in class!" With these words, she scooted up against me, placing her head on my chest, then clasping my hand in hers and placing them both over the spot where my heart had once beat steadily. I had to have imagined it, but I could swear it stuttered over itself at the gesture.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer****:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Note to readers: Yes...finally an update! I do apologize for the delay, computer issues and a reformat actually left me without a word processing program or even a way to open my previous files. (Thankfully I did at least have my writing backed up!) I am finally now back on track and am working on the next chapter though, so hopefully inspiration will keep me plugging away with dear Bella and Edward!**

**Chapter 10**

**B.P.O.V.**

Despite my fears, the next weeks passed quickly, and I sometimes felt as though I was dreaming. I kept expecting to wake only to find that it had all been a dream, and I found myself constantly amazed at the ways that my life had changed in such a short time. We found that we could gradually extend the length of time that we were away from each other. Our test days for stretching out the distance and time were the weekend mornings, since I always had housework and errands to take care of. During the week, Edward would drive me to school every day, and we would spend every moment we could steal away in hidden corners of the buildings on campus simply holding each other and sharing chaste kisses. Of course, I found myself increasingly frustrated by the fact that he wouldn't allow me to kiss him the way that I wanted to, and I frequently groused about it when I got the chance. He was ever the gentleman, opening doors, carrying my books, pulling out my chair at lunch, and following various other old fashioned edicts. I guess to him it was second nature, considering that those things were the only acceptable form of behavior when he was actually growing up. These were things that were ingrained and that he most definitely had not ever forgotten, even as his other human memories had left him. He seemed oblivious to the odd looks our human classmates, particularly the males, would throw his way when he did these things. We would sit with Alice, Jasper, Angela, Jessica, Eric, and Mike at lunch most often. I assumed this was because of his sister Rosalie and her obvious dislike for me. I could not reconcile her behavior, I had never given her reason not to like me, but Edward just said she would come around eventually and told me to overlook her. Emmett frequently smiled and waved whenever he saw me, even while Rose smacked him on his arm for not paying attention to what she was saying at the moment. I had only been to their house on one occasion since the night that I had been attacked in Port Angeles, and Edward had said Rosalie and Emmett were out hunting on that particular occasion.

Surprisingly, our lunch table conversations were fairly standard teenage fare, primarily with Alice and Jessica talking fashion and gossip, Angela, Edward and myself talking about class assignments, and Mike and Eric offering up idle chatter and rolling their eyes at the girls. Jasper remained quiet the majority of the time, simply sitting beside Alice and amusing himself by directing various moods at the occupants of the tables around us. It was at this point commonplace for any given teenager to be seen practically vibrating because he sent a wave of hyperactivity to them one minute, then practically fall asleep in their tray the next. I found his ability astounding and did occasionally ask him to help me, for example sending me waves of calm right before a daunting exam. For the most part though, he didn't try to manipulate my emotions often and I had all ideas that was because Edward has asked him not to. It was hard enough for him not being able to read my mind, he wanted my emotions to be unhindered so that he could have some clue as to my state of mind. After classes were finished and Edward had driven me home, I would spend a couple of hours tidying up and cooking Charlie's supper, at which point Edward would often come back and eat with us, then he and I would take an hour or so to do homework. Normally after that we would sit in the living room on the couch together, often holding hands with my head lying on his shoulder, halfway watching whatever show my dad had on at the time. On the weekends, occasionally Alice and Jasper would join us to work on projects and such for school, then Jasper and my father would talk about guns and fishing. It seemed that Jasper was quite the weapons expert, particularly antique firearms, although what use a vampire would have had for a gun I couldn't imagine.

Alice had quickly endeared herself to my father, waiting on him hand and foot during the times that she was there. She claimed that it was to give me a break from having to do it, but I honestly think she just enjoyed it.

After our company would leave, I would get my dad prepared for and into bed, then do the same for myself, often coming into my bedroom from the bathroom to find Edward sitting on the side of my bed waiting for me. We would crawl into bed and he would hold me and we would talk for an hour or so until he would announce that it was my bedtime. He would then press play on my MP3 player, which would drift out the beautiful notes of a lullaby that he had composed and recorded just for me. I would snuggle into his arms as he stroked my hair and occasionally kissed my forehead until I fell into a deep sleep. I dare say that I had slept better in these past few weeks than I ever had in my lifetime. I felt a deep sense of peace and love wrapped in his embrace, and often it took quite a bit of effort on his part to wake me up in the mornings for school, even with the alarm going off.

We'd begun calling our nightly talk sessions "Vamp 101" and he would talk to me about the ins and outs of his kind and their lives, with me frequently asking questions. I learned that his family's dietary habits were considered an oddity in the vampire world, and that there was only one other coven such as theirs that subsisted solely on the blood of animals. The Cullens referred to them as The Denali Coven, as they lived in the Denali region of Alaska. They were often also referred to by Edward's family as their cousins. He promised to take me to meet them soon, possibly over the holiday break, but forewarned me that one of the females named Tanya seemed to be quite taken with him and had tried to seduce him on many occasions. While this concerned me a little bit, I believed him when he told me that he had no interest in her whatsoever of a romantic nature. We talked about how the change occurred and all of its unpleasant details, as well as the stories of his family members changes. The only exceptions to this had been Alice and Jasper, as they had been changed and found each other before they found and joined the impromptu little family. Jasper did still struggle with the diet, which I assume was why he seemed to be pained so much of the time at school. Apparently the burn in their throats could be quite intense, and the first year of their lives as a vampire could be extremely difficult due to the bloodlust they experienced. They referred to this time as the "Newborn stage" and the changelings could be counted on to be volatile to say the least, not seeing reason through the haze of the pain their burning throats brought them.

I had only once mentioned to Edward the possibility of becoming one of them myself. He instantly rejected the idea with such vehemence that it took me aback, saying that it was not even a possibility, and told me that he would never agree to such. He wanted me to remain human and live out my life as intended at my birth. I attempted to argue the point that he wouldn't have to treat me like a porcelain doll if I were changed, and that I would be able to stay with him for eternity that way. There was, however, no arguing with him on the subject. I shoved the idea to the back of my mind, intending to ask Alice about it once I had the opportunity. I knew that it made no sense to desire something that would cause me such massive pain and turn me into a creature that would be unruly at best and uncontrollable at worst. The main focus of this desire was that I would be able to remain with Edward indefinitely, unchanging as time went by. As vain as it seemed, I couldn't stand the idea of looking into his devastatingly beautiful face each day, knowing that my own was old and wrinkled, not to mention what other people would think if they happened to see us walking hand in hand. Somewhere in the deepest part of my mind, it did register that I was thinking about being with him indefinitely, and I wondered how I could even think of such at my age. In some ways, it did seem ridiculous, but all I had to do was look into the sculpted perfection of his face, and it all just disappeared as quickly as it had come.

The ragged hole in my chest feeling had only returned in full force once in this time period, due to Edward's absense from school that day. I was dumbfounded when he told me the night before that he and his siblings would not be in school the following day because it was going to be sunny! At the time he simply held me against him and attempted to soothe me as I was on the verge of panic. The confusion didn't help either, although I recalled him telling me that they reacted strangely to the sunlight, he had not ever explained what he meant by this and when I asked again, he vowed to show me the next afternoon when I got home from school. We had went for a walk in the woods, which ended up as a run with me holding onto his back for dear life as we rocketed past enormous trees and uphill until we finally stopped in a small clearing. It seemed as though someone had intentionally removed the trees in the area, because the surrounding trees were formed in an almost perfect circle. It was just big enough however, that in the center was a small area that was not shaded at all from the hazy sun that day. He grabbed my hand, leading me with him to stand in the light, and asked me to cover my eyes just before we stepped into it.

He stepped away from me and I could hear him rustling his clothing, although I couldn't imagine what on earth for. I then felt him near me again, with his hands on both of my shoulders, turning me slightly so that I was where he wanted me. His hands fell and I felt him step away again, saying "Ok, you can move your hands now, just try to remember to breathe please Bella." I slowly removed my hands and was shocked to see what looked like thousands of rays of light shooting off of the skin of his face, neck, chest, and stomach! It was the reflections of the sun's rays causing them and I found myself dumbfounded. It was as if his flesh was made of diamonds cut precisely to create the maximum fire possible, although I doubted seriously if any diamond cut could rival the appearance of his skin at that moment. He scowled at me and began, "Bella, breathe!" I sucked in a sharp breath, realizing he was right and that I had not been moving any air for what seemed like a couple of minutes, although I'm certain that it was not nearly so long. "Sorry! I just….it's like…..I mean…..how?" I finally managed to stutter out the question and he just smiled that devastatingly beautiful crooked smile of his down at me as he moved to re-button his shirt. "No! I mean, ummm…. could you leave it open so I can look please? Just for a minute?" He stepped back, unfastenening the one he had closed and let his arms drop to his sides, allowing me to view him again. I took in as much as I could bear, trying to burn the image into my memory. His adam's apple, the curve of his throat with the silvery crescent shaped scar at his jugular, the solid planes of his chest and abdomen, looking as if he had been chiseled out of the smoothest marble or granite. I remembered the firmness of his embraces, of how I felt as though I was leaning against and being held gently by a warm, smooth, statue. He was not massive by any means, particularly next to someone like Emmett, but he was still taller than I was and could wrap one arm around my waist and carry me. No, he wasn't what I would call muscle bound, he was lean, cut, and graceful. He almost reminded me of a big cat such as a panther or mountain lion, medium sized for its category, yet also powerful and lithe. I wondered if he had ever went head to head with one of them, in the matter of hunting or possibly fighting over prey?

I shook my head slightly and could feel my blush begin as my thoughts once again ran over the lines of his chest and stomach, the faint sprinkling of hair on his chest and the line of it that ran below his navel into his waistband. I looked up at his face again and forced myself to speak, "Well I guess that explains why you guys can't be seen outside on sunny days! It would be a little strange to go around completely covered up when it was, especially in the summer.""Yes." he replied "Carlisle and Esme have an understanding with the school that on those days we hike and camp as a family. They tend not to ask questions, considering Carlisle's status at the hospital. Then again, the fact that the new computer equipment and the majority of the medical supplies in the nursing office and health sciences classroom were a donation from the family probably doesn't hurt matters either! Although we did request that the donations be considered anonymous. We try to do all of our donations to schools, hospitals, and such anonymously or at least request that they be kept so. Esme has donated to many orphanages and children's charities over the years as well. A few have tried to name wings or even whole buildings after her, but she refuses."

He stepped out of the sunlight's dazzling effects and once again began buttoning his shirt, smoothing it into place. He smiled at me and laughed softly, I suppose mostly because I probably still looked like a gaping fish with my mouth hanging open, completely taken with the wonderful creature in front of me, inside and out. He took my hand, turning me back in the direction from which we had come in, until I pulled his hand back towards me and whispered to him. "Do you think we could stay here for just a little while please? It's so quiet here, I feel as though we are in our own world, where nothing can touch us." We sat down in the grass where we were standing, with him pulling me back against his chest in an embrace. I leaned my head back against his shoulder and sighed, simply breathing in his scent, which was clean and sweet. He leaned toward me and placed a kiss on top of my head, breathing in deeply, as if trying to breathe in my scent as well and rested his chin on the top of my head. We sat like this for a while, simply existing together, and I realized that it felt like the most natural thing in the world to me. We belonged in the same space together, Edward and I. I had thought this before, but being in this place with him seemed to cement the thought thoroughly into my head and my heart simultaneously.

He finally spoke after what seemed like ages, "Well love, it seems I recall that a certain young lady who just happens to be sitting with me right now has a birthday in a couple of days. What would you like to do to celebrate? My dear sister Alice seems to be under the impression that a party is in order, although I tried to convince her that I didn't think you would want one. You will only turn 18 once, love, we should make it special, although I don't want to make you uncomfortable at all." I thought about what he said for a moment, coming out of my haze, jumping slightly when I realized he was serious, Alice wanted to throw a PARTY? "Oh NO, please no, I'm begging you Edward! Please don't let her do that! I hate parties, even moreso when they are supposed to be for me! I would like to see your family, but I mostly just want to have a quiet day and spend time with you and my father." He smiled that devastating grin of his, replying "I thought that might be the case, although Alice had intended on having your father there for it. I will simply tell her no, unequivocally out of the question!" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, his phone chimed, indicating that he had a call. He answered the phone and I could hear Alice's voice ringing through the air between us as he held it out to prevent damage to his sensitive ears. Holy Crow, that girl was loud! "Edward you have to convince her! I won't take no for an answer! I already have the meal planned out and the food and decorations have already been purchased, so HAH! Not to mention that Charlie thought it was a wonderful idea and is very excited about coming to our house for it! Oh Bella, please reconsider! Charlie is looking forward to getting to go somewhere that isn't a doctor's office or rehabilitation center! Emmett even put a ramp up the side of the front porch today so that it would be more easily accessible for your dad." I could almost see the smirk on the devious little pixie's face, knowing she would win by using Charlie against me. Of course she knew, she is psychic after all Bella, I thought to myself . I rolled my eyes and sighed deeply, why did I have the feeling I was going to regret this? I nodded my head at him, conceding, saying "Ok, fine Alice, but I warn you, I do NOT want any presents! Period, End of Story!" I could hear her clapping her hands in her excitement through the phone, and could imagine her practically jumping up and down as she did so. She laughed her tinkling of bells laugh and simply said "Hmmm, we shall see about that one!" and I heard the phone click as she hung up before I had the chance to argue with her last statement.

Edward shut the phone with a sigh, shaking his head at his beloved sister's exuberance. "I'm sure I can talk her out of it when I get home, don't worry about it love." I thought for a moment and said, "I don't think it would do any good, but it's ok, I will suffer through it for Charlie's sake, since he apparently is so excited about it. I knew he was acting a little strange after she left yesterday afternoon, I guess now I know why. He has been asking me what I wanted to do for a couple of weeks now I guess and I kept putting him off. I guess it is only fair considering he doesn't normally get to see me since I have normally been with my mom for my birthday in the past few years." He smiled down into my face and replied, "Well , I'm glad that he will get to be with you for it this year, I just don't want you to be unhappy and feel coerced into the situation." I leaned my head back against him again and sighed, turning my face up towards his once more. "I will be fine, as long as I have you there, and my father, I will be wonderful. I'm actually surprised my mom hasn't mentioned anything about it over the phone. Then again, she knows how I feel about parties, so we usually just have a nice dinner and a dessert of some sort at home along with a movie. Oh! I just thought of it, please ask Alice to make sure the food is acceptable for my father to have, considering." I could feel him shaking as he laughed at the last part of my statement. He wrapped his arms around me and leaned down near my ear to whisper, "No worries my love, Alice had our father to approve the entire menu before she decided on it."

We soon after got up and headed back to my house where I got the table ready for dinner and finished the details to go with the meal in the crock pot I had prepared. We ate and I got my dad situated to watch the game. I was about to ask him what Billy and Jacob had been up to lately when the phone rang and it was Billy. When Charlie got off the phone he said that Billy & Jake were coming over since the pregame had just begun and they had a little time. I went to make sure they had plenty of suitable snacks and such and was leaning over into the fridge when I felt Edward's hand on my lower back. Being preoccupied with my task, it startled me and I slammed my head upward onto the shelf above and felt something sharp cut into the back of my head. It was the metal clip on the thermometer that was attached to that shelf, and I had hit it hard enough to break the skin. Geez I was such a clutz!

Suddenly the metallic scent of my own blood hit me and I reached to feel around and investigate the damage. I pulled my hand back to inspect it and found a good deal of blood on it. Suddenly my mind snapped to attention and I looked up at Edward, only to find him across the room, as far away from me as he could be and still be in the kitchen. I noted that his eyes had shifted to pitch black and that he seemed to be holding his breath, so I ran over to the sink and snatched up a towel, pressing it to the wound and nodded at him towards the door nearby. "Go, get outside and get some fresh air, I can deal with this. I just need to get it to stop bleeding and clean this mess up on the thermometer and where I bumped the shelf and some stuff fell over. I will call you when I'm done...Go, I'm fine, really!" I heard the door shut and turned back around to the fridge, surveying the damage. It wasn't so bad really, so I ran some hot water in the sink and mixed in some bleach, tossing the thermometer in with one hand while holding the towel to my wound still with the other. It was starting to sting slightly, and I was also getting a very slight headache to go along with it, so I grabbed the Tylenol and popped a couple in my mouth. What I didn't think through, however, was popping my head back in the usual manner to swallow them, and when I did so I got a sharp pain from my wound down the back of my neck that made me extremely dizzy. Suddenly the room seemed to swirl around me and I sagged towards the counter, reaching out to grab it but missing and managed to crack my head once again, this time on the edge of the counter on my forehead. I felt hands grasping me right before I would have hit the floor, then lifting me and carrying me away from the scent of the bleach. Thankfully it was now masking the scent of my blood. I heard my father's sharp intake of breath and him saying "What on earth happened? What's wrong with her?" and Edward telling him that I had hit and cut my head while in the refrigerator. I felt him lowering me onto the sofa and opened my eyes, struggling to sit up and put the towel back to the wound on my head. The movement did not agree with my head however, and the room began swimming around me again. I opened my mouth to exclaim at the sharp pain but the spinning accelerated and suddenly everything went black.

I think I vaguely awoke for a few seconds at one point, but felt movement underneath me and was confused, then the blackness took over again. When I finally came to again, I heard soft voices murmuring from what sounded like far away, however when I finally forced my eyes to open and focus, I found Edward on my right and his father to my left. The room was somewhat dim, and I began to realize that I was in Carlisle's study in the Cullen home. I reached up to find the wound, but my hand was stopped and I felt warm water. Edward had grabbed my hand and was rinsing it in a large bowl of warm water with soap to clean the dried blood from my skin. Good grief, why was my head pounding so? How on earth had I gotten here? Why had I blacked out? I looked at him quizzically and he cocked his head to the side slightly as if listening, his eyes becoming large and round, his mouth dropping open. Apparently Carlisle noted his change in demeanor instantly and said "Son, what's wrong? What's going on?" Edward whispered in a tone I could barely make out, "She's confused, she doesn't know why her head is pounding, how she got here or why she blacked out...Carlisle, I can hear her thoughts now!" Upon hearing this, my mind switched into high gear and began racing for the few seconds it could before I blacked out and there was once again silence.

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	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Chapter 11**

**E.P.O.V.**

I found myself on my knees on the floor in front of the chair where I had been sitting beside the stretcher on which Bella laid, hands clasped over my ears. It wasn't the thoughts themselves that prompted my reaction, it was the sudden deluge of them that seemed to come crashing in on me at one time, as if a flood gate had been let loose. I saw flashes of my family, Alice and Jasper holding each other, Rose smacking Emmett on his arm, Esme smiling up at Carlisle. Then there were even briefer flashes of Charlie, both in the hospital during his illness and at home recuperating. Her mother, Renee appeared as well, standing next to a man I must assume was Bella's stepfather Phil, and also helping Bella paint her bedroom at Charlie's house. These were again all brief glimpses, probably not even a third of what I caught. The majority of the images that I got contained flashes of my own self, from our run in at the hospital, Charlie's homecoming day, our first date, the first night I climbed into her room, and finally me standing in the middle of the meadow earlier today, my skin glittering like a thousand diamonds and her amazement at it. There were dozens more in between, and while most human's memories are slightly fuzzy to me, since our senses are so much sharper than theirs, these were as clear and unblemished as any I had ever seen from our kind. I found myself shocked and amazed at this fact, but my mind quickly moved on to the fact that the emotions connected with these thoughts was overwhelming. I realized that she was showing me how she felt, pushing these thoughts towards me while she could, and she wanted me to know the depth of her feelings for me.

I suddenly felt warm, as if I had stepped into a stream of sunlight, even though it was well after dark by now, and I opened my eyes to look for it's source. I was surprised to see a glow that seemed to be emanating from her as she looked at me with a confused expression as the glow reached towards me, engulfing me in its warmth. I had never seen such a thing before and I found myself unable to speak at the moment to ask Carlisle if he could see it too. He was standing on the other side of her, as if indecisive about whether to approach me or not and his expression was one of concern, but for some strange reason he was either blocking his thoughts from me or I just couldn't hear them right then. I was very confused at the moment by all of this and suddenly the warmth was still there, but her rapid fire thoughts ceased and there was complete quiet. Her eyes fluttered closed and she was once again apparently unconcious, and her thoughts were silent, but the glow remained...seemingly forming a bubble around and between us. I reached out and touched what seemed to be its edge to my right, but there was no resistance past its edges, only the sensation that the fingers outside no longer felt the warmth. When I brought my hand back to hers on the side of the stretcher, it was once again warmed completely. This was beyond reality to me and I looked at Carlisle, wondering why I still could not hear his thoughts as I spoke. "Carlisle, can you see this, the glow? Can you feel the warmth coming from it? From her?"

He looked around and then cocked his head to the side slightly, saying "Edward, I don't see a glow of any sort, and I'm not sure what you mean by warmth...she doesn't feel fevered. What are you getting from her?"

I explained the sudden flood of thoughts, the overwhelming love she felt for me, and then began explaining the glow and the warmth that it brought. In the midst of explaining though, another thought occurred to me and I said, "Carlisle are you blocking your thoughts from me?" He looked at me strangely and shook his head no, saying "No, I haven't, although I was wondering why you didn't answer my question before. I was thinking that she must have banged her head pretty hard if suddenly now you can hear her thoughts when previously they were silent to you. It also concerns me that she has lost conciousness again, and I asked if you thought maybe we should take her to the hospital for a scan? I would rather err on the side of caution when it comes to Bella and her wellbeing, especially since her father relies on her so much still. I will have to do some research on the glow you are describing, is it still there?" I nodded in the affirmative and glanced back at my Bella lying beside me on the stretcher, noticing how fragile she suddenly appeared, completely quiet and much more still than even in her usual sleep it seemed. I looked back to my father and said, "Yes, I would rather be on the safe side and have a scan done, especially considering I can now suddenly hear her thoughts. I don't know what would have had to happen to render that change, but it concerns me a great deal. Can you call her father and let him know what is going on and that we are taking her? I told him I would have you update him as soon as possible and I would imagine he is worrying. The Black's are there with him now, I passed them as I left to come here with her, so he is not alone." He nodded and went over to his desk to call Charlie as I walked to the door and called for Alice and Esme. Alice yelled from her bedroom, "I'll be right there with a shirt, and Esme is bringing the basin to wash the blood out of her hair so Carlisle can suture and bandage the wound before you leave!" I noticed that at this point I could once again hear my family member's thoughts, and turned to notice that I had stepped outside the range of the glow. It also appeared as though it had gotten smaller and was wrapped more closely around her. My mother and sister flitted into the room and set about rinsing the dried blood out of her hair as best as possible without moving her head too much, and then they stepped out of the room long enough for me to assist Carlisle in suturing the wound on the back of her head. The gash was actually much smaller than I had originally believed, and was actually only about an inch long, despite the copious amounts of blood that had poured from it earlier. I did recall from my medical school training, however, that there is a high concentration of smaller blood vesssels in the scalp, so profuse bleeding from even small cuts is not unusual.

We left the room, after Carlisle had performed a quick clean up and allowed Alice and Esme to change her shirt so that we could leave. I wrapped a blanket around her, carrying her

bridal style down to the car and slid in beside her while Carlisle drove. I watched her intently and was entirely focused on her as my father raced towards the medical center, calling them on his cell phone to alert them of our arrival and of what services he would require when we arrived. I sat with her pulled into my lap, basking in the warmth of the glow, gingerly stroking her forehead being careful to avoid the goose egg that had developed on it after she had cracked it on the edge of the counter when falling. Her delicately pale skin was bruised and an ugly purple in the center and around the perimeter of the knot, almost like a bullseye. I found myself looking past her and into the misty night surrounding us, and I began replaying the most featured thoughts that she had sent to me earlier. It seemed that she had heard me say that I could hear her thoughts and she wanted to show me just how she felt about me while she could. I had felt an almost overwhelming feeling of love, but it wasn't what most people would have expected of someone her age. Teenage love, I had found through the thoughts of classmates many times caught up in the throes of it, was heady, idealistic, sometimes extreme, and often obsessive to a degree. Bella's love for me was different, it was almost an entity of its own...breathing and pulsing with life and light. She truly had felt as though there were a monstrous hole where her heart was supposed to be when we were not together in those first days after discovering our bond. Although the thought of her suffering saddened me, it also brought me the solace of knowing that we indeed had been experiencing very similar feelings. When she did see me after having been apart for whatever length of time it may have been, she had and still felt overwhelmingly complete and happy. Knowing this gave me a sense of peace that I do not think I had known in my immortal life, and I embraced her gently more closely to me, breathing in the scent of her.

We arrived shortly at the hospital, and I carried her in, placing her gingerly on a gurney in the Emergency Room. I had to be careful not to allow her head to land roughly on the pillow. I sat by her side, holding her hand as we waited for them to take her back for the head CT, wondering what might have occurred that would have changed or torn down the mental block she had in place previously. I found myself wondering if the condition was a temporary one or if it was possible that I would continue to be able to read her thoughts. It would've definitely come in handy on some occasions. Although to be honest with myself, I found it somewhat soothing that we could share companionable silence with no errant thoughts prying their way into my brain. I had no time to further explore this thought because just then the transporter came to take her back to CT and my father appeared right behind. Normally visitors were not allowed to go back to the testing units, but Carlisle just shook his head slightly and spoke in a tone much too low for the transporter to hear, saying "Alice called me a moment ago and said that both of us needed to go down to CT with her for some reason, although she wouldn't say why." He glanced towards Bella and looked slightly puzzled, informing the transporter at that time that I would be accompanying them to the unit, and of course received nothing other than a slightly shocked "Yes Sir, Dr. Cullen." The transporter was now extremely intrigued by the change in policy for what seemed like an ordinary girl. He knew that I was Carlisle's son, however I had to assume that due to his thought process he did not know that Bella was my beloved, or the police chief's daughter for that matter.

We made our way through the hallway and to the staff/transport elevator and I reached down to take Bella's hand as the doors slid shut. I saw the transporter when he took note of the gesture and only halfway managed to stop myself from allowing the growl to erupt from my chest when I caught his thoughts. He was thinking that teenage love was so fickle, and that considering our family's status in Forks that I must simply be biding my time with her until I could find someone more suitable. Judging by his thoughts, he found her pretty but not extraordinarily so, and noting her clothing and what little jewelry she wore, he ascertained that she must not be from a wealthy family such as ours. Granted we did not flaunt our wealth, all of us did tend to wear designer clothing due to dear Alice's penchant for fashion and shopping. We also did not wear much in the manner of jewelry, mostly just our Cullen crest pieces made specifically for each of us and the wedding rings that Carlisle and Esme wore. To be honest, Esme, Rose, and Alice did own a multitude of custom jewelry pieces, though they only wore them sparingly unless it was a special occasion such as a benefit ball or such. I found it amusing myself that when one of them did wear something, particularly Alice or Rose, I could often hear thoughts from other girls about their pretty silver pieces. Of course those pieces were not silver, they were most often platinum, but they were none the wiser. At this point I noticed that he had become curious as to this mystery girl's identity, so he nonchalantly picked up the chart near his hand and was somewhat confused. Curiosity got the better of him, and he looked to my father, asking "Is this Chief Swan's daughter? I know he was in here a while back, but I was working mostly around the ER, so I never saw her." Carlisle looked back at him and simply said "Yes, this young lady is Chief Swan's daughter, her name is Bella, and he is still at home recovering, which is why he isn't here himself. I assured him that she would receive the best care possible here, she bumped her head quite hard and we wanted to be certain everything was ok." The attendant nodded mutely, catching the note in my father's voice that anything other than excellent care was unacceptable and said nothing further as the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors slid open.

Carlisle and I stepped into the control booth after he had personally helped get her situated on the sliding platform that would move her into the machine. She was still unconcious at this point, which was concerning me more and more each moment, as well as my father, judging by his thoughts. The machine began its cycle and I could hear the hum and whir and clink of each piece of it's internal workings. The images began appearing on the screens in front of us, although they looked odd. I remembered seeing many anomalies on scans during my medical school training, but had never seen anything such as the images that were being displayed. The CT Technician looked back and forth at them, then at my father, saying "Sir, it seems there must be something wrong with the machine, I've never seen it do this before!" The images on the screens were like someone had smudged them with soot, dark and very hard to make out. You could vaguely make out the lines indicating the various sections of her brain, but it was like a screen had been placed over them on the monitors. He began adjusting his equipment, trying to clear up the image, but making no progress. After about 2 minutes he looked concernedly at my father and said, "Dr. Cullen, I'm sorry, but all the settings are calibrated as they should be, something seems to be short-circuiting somewhere, I have never seen a CT machine do this! We may need to bring a technician in to look at it." My father nodded and said, "Go call someone, we need this machine to be up and operational in case it's needed critically. I will stop it and go get Miss Swan back onto the gurney for now." The tech nodded his head and went over to the adjoining office to find the needed phone numbers. My father was looking curiously at the images, as if he could learn something from them and he was about to press the button to stop the machine when I heard something. I could hear it as clear as anything, Bella was waking up and didn't understand the noises around her. She was about to open her eyes to see what was around her when suddenly I heard a screeching high pitched noise that sounded like static. "Carlisle, she's waking up, but something isn't right, what is that noise?" Suddenly it was like my mind was being shocked with enough electricity to light up a small city and I fell to my knees clutching the sides of my head in pain. In the midst of the shock there was once again a deluge of thoughts coming from my Bella, only this time they were disjointed, pieced together as if her brain was scrambling them up into a huge swirling mess. I felt sick and could barely force my lungs to move any air as I vaguely heard my father calling my name from what seemed like miles away and then heard him saying "Get her out of the machine! She might hurt herself further seizing inside it!"

I struggled to pull myself upright against the desk the monitors were attached to, and looked out through the glass into the scan room. I had found covering my ears did no good to block out the noise as it was apparently not anything anyone else could hear. I saw several staff members in scrubs surrounding the machine and saw them lift her back over onto the stretcher while two taller nurses tried to restrain her arms and legs to keep her from hurting herself, finally throwing their own bodies across her at my father's instruction, lying across her at her knees and abdomen. Her neck was arched back at an unnatural angle and I could see her body struggling to jerk with the seizure, while my father struggled to keep the bite guard in her mouth so she wouldn't bite her tongue severely. A nurse came running from the corner where the crash cart was kept in the hall with a syringe and I heard Carlisle saying "We can't give her Valium unfortunately, we don't want to sedate her without knowing what sort of head injury she may have." I knew that seizures following a head injury could occur, but to be honest at that moment I could not for the life of me remember what caused them. She hadn't hit her head very hard at all, but yet she had remained unconcious for a very long period of time and now had just had a grand mal seizure. Suddenly I noticed the glow around her pulse and grow, expanding itself around the staff surrounding her. I saw my father's eyes grow round as he felt it envelope him and he looked in my direction, apparently unsure if I had been able to get back up yet or not. I nodded to him, letting him know that was the same sensation I had gotten earlier, the warmth coming from her as though she herself was the light.

All at once, the glow pulled back in to center itself above her, but instead of spreading around her whole body, it formed two orbs, both drawing up from her body into the air. One extended from her chest and one from her head, rising until the filaments left between the orbs and her body seperated. I watched in amazement as they came together, forming a larger orb. None of the staff seemed to notice that anything odd had occurred, but my father looked at me questioningly. My mind was still being filled with the odd scrambled thoughts and images as I stood frozen to the spot where I had rose. Finally, the large orb seemed to shimmer and begin shaking, centering itself over her forehead. Then it suddenly seemed to shift itself and I watched as it dropped down and sat against her forehead for a second before dissolving into it. Her body stopped shaking, the scrambled thoughts ceased, and the room was completely quiet for a moment, as everyone realized she had stopped. Carlisle nodded his head to the two nurses lying across her and they stood back upright, looking slightly dazed from the experience. He said something quietly and they all moved to once again shift her back onto the CT scanner's platform. I started to protest, but knew that he had to find out what was going on, and this was the best bet. I then remembered that the machine was malfunctioning and may not be able to give him the answers he needed, but once he made a decision about such things it was best to follow his instincts. I noted as my father took off his lab coat and emptied his pockets quickly that he gestured for them to turn the intercom on since the staff was shutting the door and standing behind it, waiting to rush in again should she start seizing. "I'm going to stay in here and monitor her pulse and breathing and look for any signs of tremors during the scan. I will let you all know if I need you."

The staff made no arguments, although I could tell they were all confused as to what he was doing exactly. I looked at her again and was startled to see that in addition to her mind being completely quiet, the glow was nowhere to be seen. I started to panic and Carlisle must have seen it on my face, because he indicated her wrist in his hand, monitoring her pulse. Ok, she had a pulse and was breathing, that was good, she was still here. But I could not stop my mind from wondering if she would be the same Bella after this ordeal.

The CT Technician began the giant machine's cycle once again and after a few moments the screens once again showed images of her brain, however this time they were clear as day! He looked at me and back to the screens, saying "Was I imagining the malfunction earlier? Did the images look like this then too? This makes no sense!" I nodded my head no and said, "No, you didn't imagine it, they looked like someone had smeared something across them all." I left it at that since it would have seemed odd that a teenager, even the son of a doctor, would have detailed knowledge about a brain CT. Thankfully the scan finished in a few minutes and the tech announced that they had what the neurologist on call would need to interpret. The staff once again marched in and after loading Bella back onto the ER gurney they dispersed with the exception of the transporter that had brought us here. He made sure the chart was placed back on its rack, and we made our way back to the ER in silence. Of course as they had loaded up for the trip back my father had went to the monitors and scanned through the images for himself quickly, and I could see him going over them in his mind on the return trip. He seemed perplexed and when we were alone with Bella he said, "That has got to be one of the oddest experiences of my medical career! I have never seen such, and that's saying a lot. Edward, there was NOTHING abnormal on those scans the second time." I looked back and forth between my Bella and him for a moment, and knew he was speaking the truth. I would trust his word against any other physician's whether they were specialists or not. He simply preferred to remain in general medicine and defer to those who did specialize so that he could work with a variety of patients. He felt that he gained more knowledge that way and if they were incorrect, he would often offer suggestions to lead them in the right direction.

I sat in the chair beside where she lay, clasping her hand once more. Our kind do not as a rule get tired, we require no sleep, however after the events in the scanning room, I felt weary. I also didn't often find myself with any lingering physical effects from my ability, however I did have a dull headache. My father said to me "I'm going to go check up on a few things son, will you let me know if she wakes up, please?" I nodded and he left the room. I found myself leaning forward, placing my forehead against her forearm. After a couple of minutes, I felt a slight movement against my arm, although I thought I had imagined it. I felt the movement again, and lifted my head to look at her face. I saw her eyelids flutter briefly and I shot to my feet, expecting the deluge again any moment. She finally opened her eyes, squinting them against the harsh lights, and looked at me questioningly. Nothing, I heard nothing from her mind and the light did not reappear. "Dad?" I said in a voice only slightly louder than normal conversational tone, knowing he would hear me. "Where am I? What happened?" I heard her say at barely more than a whisper. I held a straw to her lips and allowed her to sip some water to soothe her dry throat. She attempted to sit up and I gently pushed her back down, saying "Slow down Love, you've had quite an evening and I don't want you to sit up too fast and get dizzy." I leaned over and gently brushed my lips across hers whispering, "I'm so glad you're awake, I was so worried about you. I don't think I could bear to lose you my love." I lifted my head and gazed into her warm chocolate eyes as I heard my father's footsteps approaching. I heard him walk up beside me, picking up her chart, and jotting down his latest notes. Hearing the question in his mind before he could speak it aloud, I said "No, nothing, I hear no thoughts from her nor is the glow there anymore."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!****

**Chapter 12**

**B.P.O.V.**

Ugh! My head was pounding as I opened my eyes to look up at Edward and his father standing beside my bed. I noticed the look of silent communication between them and heard Edward saying "No, nothing, I hear no thoughts from her nor is the glow there anymore." I was somewhat disappointed but also terribly confused by his statement. What glow was he talking about? I also considered that maybe sometimes it would be better if he were not capable of hearing my thoughts all the time. He probably would be insane within a week given the frequency of my thoughts recently about becoming one of his kind. I knew the mere thought of it drove him crazy from what Alice had told me, so I had no doubt that he would NOT be happy with me had he known. I had tried to force my thoughts to focus on the depth of my love for him earlier when I'd heard him say he could finally hear my mind's inner workings. I wanted, even if it were just for that moment, for him to know exactly how I felt about us and his family, but primarily about him and only him. It was only at this point that I began to take in my surroundings and was surprised at the brightness of the lights, indicating I was no longer in Carlisle's study. Oh no, I was once again in the emergency room it seemed, although it was the first time in some 10 odd years that I had been a patient at the hospital in Forks.

Carlisle must have noted my expression because he said, "Bella, how do you feel? Do you remember any of what's happened since we were at our house?" I sat in concentration for a moment and slowly began to shake my head no, but that motion was abandoned when the room began swirling all around me. I grabbed the rails on each side of the gurney I was on in an attempt to keep from falling into the darkness and passing out again, hoping that if I could ground myself well enough, I would be able to remain concious. I fought off a wave of nausea and forced myself to focus, bringing my attention back to his question. I managed to croak out, "No, what happened, why am I here? And why do all my muscles ache? I feel bruised...did I pass out and fall down the stairs at your house?" Before I could finish the sentence, Edward was leaning towards me, holding out a cup with a straw in it. I took a tentative sip, finding that they water soothed my throat and helped clear my head slightly. Wow, what had I done? Even my jaw muscles ached! I took a longer draw of the water, looking up at Carlisle for an explanation of the evening's events that had landed me here, or at least the ones following the events that had taken place in the Cullen home. "Well Bella, after you lost conciousness the second time and stayed out for a short time, we decided it might be best if you had a CAT scan of your head to make certain there was no major injury. Especially considering that for the brief time you were awake, Edward was able to read your thoughts. I sutured the cut on the back of your head and we brought you here. We were trying to read the scans but there were some technical issues with the machine and before we could get you out of the machine, you had a grand mal seizure. We weren't able to medicate you to stop it since we didn't know what type of head injury you might have at that point, but thankfully it only lasted a minute or so. After that, we tried the scan again and got the images we needed. From my observation, I didn't see any anomalies on the scans, but the Neurologist on call is looking at them as we speak. Have you ever had any type of seizure before that you are aware of?" Carlisle's careful but thorough explanation of everything took a moment to sink in, and I almost wondered if I had heard him right.

"I...no, I've never had a seizure before, how is that possible? I just cut my head a little and then banged my forehead on the counter. I really don't even know why I passed out, I have hit my head much harder than that before and not even passed out. Are you certain it was a grand mal seizure?" I knew he would not have mistaken anything else for a grand mal by any stretch of the imagination, but I simply couldn't comprehend what had apparently happened. In all actuality, I could have told the difference between a petit and grand mal seizure despite my overwhelming lack of medical knowledge other than that pertaining to the various injuries I had incurred over the years and what I knew from dealing with my father's recent ill health. During the several years that we had lived in Arizona one of my closest friends, Amanda, had suffered from epilepsy. I had quickly learned the difference between the two and also about the various measures that needed to be taken when either of them occurred, as well as when to have someone call for help and when to simply let her rest for a while. She had them frequently despite medications, and they could range anywhere from just a sudden blank stare and some slight trembling, to full blown grand mal seizures that never failed to rattle to me to my core no matter how many times I saw them. I had actually been given training by her doctor and parents so that I could accompany her at school and help her when she needed it. She had spent several years being home schooled and had begged for over a year for her parents to allow her to attend normal high school and they had finally relented. This was after the school agreed that we would be put on the same schedule and that I would be allowed to assist her in any way she needed. Luckily enough, she had received and been working with a specially trained assistance canine before we received the call and had to rush here to Forks.

I was glad that Amanda had gotten the opportunity and knew that the dog, a Rottweiler named Zoe, would be just what she needed. Zoe was trained to detect the subtle signals from Amanda's body that were a precursor to any of her seizures, and she could often tell my friend to get to a safe location even before Amanda could even tell herself that one was imminent. The dog would chuff softly, then lean her head up against her thigh, gently guiding her away from any large furniture or other obstacles and try to get her to either grass or carpet that would cushion them. She would then brace her own large body against Amanda's and guide her down as best as possible, with Amanda sitting and then lying to prevent a hard fall like so many before. Zoe would lie down beside her, often lying her head on Amanda's chest after the tremors slowed to comfort her. She also carried a pack that contained various items in case they were needed, two bottles of water, a list of her medical issues and medications for paramedics, a bite guard that Amanda could place in her mouth prior, and a cell phone that had one button on the front of it. When Amanda would lie down, she would remove the items and place them on the ground near Zoe's head where they would be easily found. If the seizure persisted for an extended period of time, or was worse than normal, Zoe was trained to use her paw to press the large button on the front of the phone. This transmitted a signal to both 911 and the cell phones of Amanda's parents with a tone and message that included the GPS coordinates of their current location so that help could reach them. All of these things gave her something that she had never previously known, the ability to go to the park, library, or anywhere else really without requiring a human chaperone. Although she enjoyed spending time with me, I knew that deep down she sincerely wished for some sliver of indpendence and solitude.

Having such in-depth knowledge of seizures and seeing the impact they could have, I knew why my muscles ached so horribly right then. These passing thoughts were simply a flash through my mind and I looked intently at Carlisle, hoping that he would change his theory and say that maybe he had been mistaken and it had not been a grand mal after all. It was Edward who spoke next however, and when I looked at him it was almost as if I was suddenly seeing him for the first time all over again. "Bella, love, we are all quite certain it could have been nothing else. I cannot recall ever being witness to someone's thoughts while they were experiencing that, even in medical school, but there was nothing I could pick out in particular. It was as if your thoughts were in a blender and someone put it on high speed, there was no definition between them. How do you feel now though, other than your sore muscles?" I thought about it for a moment and took a mental inventory, checking off each major limb and responded. "Well, I have a horrendous headache, and my muscles are aching all over, but I don't feel anything else right now." As I finished my sentence I found myself studying his face intently, just now noticing that it seemed to almost have a luminessence about it. I remembered the way he had looked in the sunlight in that meadow just earlier, his skin glistening like the finest diamond in existence. It seemed odd to me however, that his father's skin did not seem as luminescent as his at the moment, and also that he had never appeared so under these type of lights. It was at that moment like he was glowing from within, a pale greenish-gold glow that seemed to be seeping from his very pores. His eyes, however, were beginning to darken at a rapid rate and the telltale shadows beneath them told me that he needed to hunt. I knew also though, that there was no way I would be able to convince him to leave me long enough to do so as long as he felt I was not 100% back to my usual self.

I thought quickly, trying to find a resolution to this dilemma, and asked him sweetly if he would go get me a cola because my stomach was starting to feel queasy. He nodded his head, and was gone from the room in a flash. I reached over for Carlisle's hand, grasping it and pulling him closer to the gurney, trying to speak in a low tone and hoping that Edward was far enough away that he could not hear my plea. "Carlisle, he needs to hunt...soon. We have to figure out a way to get him to go, but it won't be easy. He won't leave me as long as he thinks I might need him. I don't think the sight of my blood earlier helped matters either, he had to go outside for a minute and catch his breath at first. Is there any way you, Jasper, and Emmett could bring something back for him?" I wasn't even sure if what I was requesting could be done, but I was certain that if it were, the Cullens would be capable of it. They were more than a mere clan as many of their kind tended to consider themselves, they were truly a family. He seemed to consider this for a moment, and said "I think we should be able to do something, I will call Jasper when I leave the room and see what we can work up." He winked at me and turned just as Edward came back into the room, saying "I am going to go speak with the Neurologist now. He should be done reviewing the scans and I am curious as to whether he found anything in them unusual."

Edward had prepared the drink with a straw so that I could drink a few sips without having to lean up too much. I did so and smiled at him softly and asked, "Does he honestly think that the Neurologist will have seen something that he didn't?" He smiled back at me and I could hear the laughter in his voice as he said, "Well, I doubt it, however he tries not to let on that he is as proficient as he actually is. He wouldn't want to raise suspicion, you know? He doesn't really look old enough to have specialized in as many areas as he has behind him, now does he?" I giggled slightly and shook my head no, forgetting how recently that had sent the room swirling and there it went again. My right hand went to the rail automatically, but my left hand searched out his and I grabbed on tightly, as if he could anchor me to the floor and stop the sickening spinning. I had squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as possible, and when I opened them, I blinked several times trying to clear my vision. My hearing had went from the murmering quiet of the ER on a relatively slow and late night to a slowly building crescendo that sounded like a horde of cicadas in the blistering heat of the summer. Everything seemed to have a halo of light around it, almost as if I could see an aura around each and every object in my sight. I tried to make sense of what was happening , but could not shake the sense of impending dread that seemed to have seated itself in the pit of my stomach and quickly taken root. Edward was grasping my hand in both of his now, looking worriedly at me and speaking. I knew innately that he was asking if I was ok, but could only look at him, terrified, and reach over and grab his arm with my other hand as well. "What is that horrible noise?" I said finally, although it most likely came out as more of a terrified shriek. I saw him turn his head and call for the nurse, most likely telling her to page Carlisle immediately. He turned back to me and suddenly the light that I had noticed coming from him earlier seemed to have brightened exponentially, nearly blinding me.

I closed my eyes and held my breath for a moment, hoping it would subside, but suddenly felt as though an electrical current were being passed through my entire body. I tried to reach out again, but found I had no control of my limbs, as they were locked straight. I could feel my back arching up and off the gurney, and then suddenly I felt as though I was not touching it at all, even with my feet or hands. It was almost as if I were levitating over the gurney completely, until a moment later when my body was suddenly slammed back down onto it. My muscles began immediately relaxing and I was able to turn my head in the direction where Edward had been, zeroing in on him with no effort, although he was standing in a different place than he had been. Apparently a nurse had rushed in and was taking orders from Carlisle, who was standing near my head. I took these rather random details in and moved on to my original intention, that of letting Edward know I was ok again now. We locked eyes and he moved forward, as if knowing I was trying to communicate with him. Suddenly I felt a wave of quiet overtaking my body, and glanced over to see the nurse with a syringe in her hand. I understood somehow that she had sedated me, and fought to turn my attention back to Edward and speak to him. But the words that seemed to be coming from my mouth were not what I intended to say, and I honestly had no idea if I was whispering them or shouting them. The strange words felt as though someone else was using me to speak and I felt my lips moving saying, "_Il Mio Spirito ha Promesso,_ _È intenzione del vostro spirito e la purezza del tuo cuore che veramente determinare il destino della vostra anima." _I managed to take a slight breath in and out before the sedation took over me and I slipped back into unconciousness once again.

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